Existing Life
by Jak4
Summary: Life is rough, specially when you are on your own and barely have any help. The only thing that keeps you going is the thing you want to protect the most and would do anything to keep it safe from any harm...anything.
1. Chapter 1

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**Morning Start**

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September 15, 2009

In the darkness of a room, a young man lay asleep on a plain couch. Tossing and turning was all he could do while he was trapped in yet another nightmare. These nightmares weren't uncommon to him. They didn't happen every night, but frequent enough for him to be a little afraid every time he went to sleep. By now he was starting to sweat.

The guy suddenly jolted up, waking from his dream. He looked around the dark room before calming down. He turned around to set his bare feet on the floor and held his head. He stayed like that for a few minutes trying to clear his mind before laying back and resting his head on the backrest of the couch. He stared up at the ceiling into nothingness while his eyes showed lack of sleep. He wore a white T-shirt with a V-neck and blue pajama pants.

The room he was in was the living room/kitchen. The couch was in the middle of the room. Near the wall facing the couch there was a fourteen inch T.V on top of a small stand. At the left of the couch from where he was sitting there was the front door. At the other side of the room in the corner of the room to his right there was a stove with cabinets around it. Next to it, more to the center of the right wall there was a sink and further down a table with two chairs against the wall a few feet away from it. Behind the couch there was a small hallway. The wall between the hall and stove had a refrigerator against it. In the middle of the hall there were two doors, one on the right and one on the left. At the end of the small hall there was a door. Overall, it was a small apartment.

After what seemed like hours he got up and walked to the small nightstand with two drawers next to the couch. He picked up the watch that was laying there and looked at the time.

6:26AM

No point in going back to sleep. He had to go to work an hour, anyway. He walked down the hall, passing the two doors and opened the door at the end of the hall. It was a bedroom. From the door there was a dresser on the left side of the room with a sliding closet next to it. On the right side there was a desk and a chair with a lamp and few books laying on top of the desk. A backpack lay on the bottom of the desk and a window above it. Finally, there was a bed at the opposite side from the door with the feet of the bed facing the door and a nightstand next to it with a digital clock on it.

The guy went over to the dresser as quietly as he could, trying not to disturb the sleeping person on the bed. He took out the clothes that he needed and did the same with the closet. Just as he came in, he walked out, quietly, and softly closed the door. Coming back down the hall, he opened the door to his right revealing a bathroom. He did everything he did every morning, took a shower, got dressed and brushed his teeth.

After he was done he went back to the living room/kitchen and started making breakfast. After cooking for a bit and making sure nothing would burn, he went back to the bedroom. He directly went to the window and opened the curtains, letting light into the room. He made his way to the bed and leaned over it.

"Alex." He said. With the light you could see a girl with long black hair sleeping.

"Alex." He shook her shoulder. Alex face slowly formed a small frown.

"What is it, Justin?" Alex asked, groaning.

"It's almost seven and you need to get ready for school. The alarm didn't go off, again." He responded.

Alex opened her eyes a bit and then after seeing the light, she quickly threw the covers over her head. Justin sighed and took the blanket away from her. Alex was wearing her old pajamas. One of the few things she still had from her old home. Alex buried her head under the pillow. Before he could take his little sister out of bed, he remembered he was cooking.

"Hurry up and get changed." He said as he hurried back to the kitchen.

Alex took her head out from under the pillow and looked at the clock. She closed her eyes and groaned, again. After minutes of fighting off the sleep, she stretched and got off the bed. Alex did everything her brother did, but unlike him, she liked taking her shower at night and also because there was only enough time of hot water for one person. If she waited for the hot water to come back she would be late and so would he.

After finishing, she went to the kitchen. Seeing as Justin was almost done, Alex took out two plates from the cabinets and set them on table along with forks and knives. When she finished she sat down. Justin brought the frying pan from the stove and gave her some eggs and some for himself. He put the pan in the sink and turned off the stove. Alex was already eating when he sat down across from her.

"This is all we have?" She asked after swallowing her food.

Justin looked at her. "Yeah, we're running low." Alex sighed.

"I guess I'll go grocery shopping after work." She paused and looked down at her plate. "When is the rent do?" Justin heard the hint of worry in her voice and lightly put his hand over hers.

"Alex." He said, trying to get her attention. She looked up at him. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it. I always do." He said with a warm smile. Even though she was still worried, she couldn't help, but smile back. After a few seconds passed they went back to eating. When she wasn't looking, Justin's smile dropped. There were so many troubles in his head, he didn't know how he managed to keep things like these from her. Justin shook his head. She didn't need to worry about their financial problem. When they were done, Alex grabbed her backpack and they headed out.

The sun was just over the horizon, behind the buildings, shining its morning rays. It was another new day in Brooklyn, New York. It was a little different from Manhattan, but still familiar.

They both descended down the stairs from their second floor apartment. They walked in a comfortable silence as the noises from the busy streets filled the air. Justin walked Alex to school every morning before going to work to fill in the time they couldn't see each other. Between school and their work, they didn't see much of each other through out the day. The only time they saw each other were Saturday afternoons, Sundays and their walks before school and after school. His second job was on the way to her school after school ended. Sometimes, Justin would come and see her on his breaks.

"Are you going to work late, again?" Alex asked. Justin looked at Alex from the sudden question.

"Yeah."

Alex kept looking forward and her face didn't give anything away. He sometimes wondered if she was becoming just as good as him at hiding her emotions. He knew she felt lonely when she was home by herself after work.

"Is the so popular Alex Russo a loner with no friends?" He said with a smirk.

Her blank expression broke as she rolled her eyes and pushed him to the side. Justin laughed, relieved to see Alex act more like herself.

"Are you kidding? I'm not a loser like you." She answered, sounding like her old self. If things were still the same like in the past, he would've been a little annoyed, but now he just chuckled.

"I still didn't here a no." Justin said, looking at her with amusement.

"Yes, I do have friends." She said, giving him a slight glare. "But since I have work after school, they go straight home and they live kind of far away from our apartment."

Justin's smile faded at her words. He could feel that small bit of sadness that was always there coming back. He wished he could do more for her, now that he was the only one she had left to take care of her. Well, that wasn't completely true. There were more capable people, who could take care of her, but she chose to stay with him. She made that clear almost a year ago. If there was anything he could do to make her life easier, he would do it in a heartbeat.

If he was only more capable.

If he only had somehow stopped…

Alex saw that sad look in his eyes that was becoming familiar to her. She wished he stopped feeling like that. She hated that look.

"I'm sor-" Alex didn't let him finish as she stop walking.

"Don't say it." She said. Justin turned to face her. Knowing why he was about to say that, she reached for his arm and continued. "It's not you fault." Her voice sounded so fragile. Justin hugged her with one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head.

"It's not." He faintly heard her say against his chest.

Life is hard just as it is. When you have lived with parents in a nice house most of your life, the bad things that happen to you like getting bad grades, being fired from a job, not being able to go to the university you wanted, or getting your heart broken, during that time, it seems to be very bad and it feels like it's the end of the world and you think it can't get any worse. But there are a lot of people in the world, who might disagree. Many people have suffered worse things than you have and when you experience it first hand, the problems from before don't seem so devastating anymore.

After walking a few more blocks, they could see the high school. Like any other school, it was filled with students talking and listing to music. Her first day of class was the day she dreaded. She didn't like being the new girl, but being Alex, she didn't let anyone push her around. Over time she gained some friends and that made school a little more tolerable. It wasn't so bad anymore after that.

When they were near the entrance, they parted ways.

"See ya!" Alex said before running off to catch up to her friends that just walked inside. Justin smiled as he watched her go. Half way she suddenly stopped as if she had remembered something. Alex ran back and gave him a hug that lasted almost a minute before leaving.

_They_ no longer took life for granted and knew how bad it could truly get.

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So, what do you guys think of this?


	2. Chapter 2

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**Changes**

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Changes were something Alex loved about life.

_Were _that is.

In the past she liked meeting new people, going to new places, learning the occasional spell that could help her, and so much more. All these things changed her life somehow. There were times when a few changes happened that she could've lived without, but she still loved change. That whole view about change changed completely after _that_ day. All the changes that came after that, she completely hated. Every day since then was a fight to keep anything from changing.

"Hey, guys." Alex said.

The two girls walking in the hall turned around and smiled.

"Hey, Alex." One of the girls said.

"Well this is a change. You're usually here before us." The girl with black hair and red highlights said.

"Yeah, my alarm didn't go off, again." Alex replied as they all started to walk down the hall.

"Seriously, Alex, you should just buy a new one." The girl with light brown hair said.

"I wish it were that easy." Alex murmured low enough for them not to be able to hear.

"Jen, you should listen to your own advise. I don't think your mom likes to wake you up every morning." The girl with red highlights said.

"I'm actually starting to think she enjoys pushing me off the bed everyday." Jen said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Alex smiled as she watched her best friends continue to talk. They were no Harper, but she was happy to have them. No one could ever replace her, but it didn't mean she couldn't have more best friends.

Alex smile dropped a little from remembering Harper. After the accident Harper tried to be there for her, but Alex was to far gone back then to talk to her. At the end, when she left, they didn't even have a proper goodbye. She and Justin just left without a word. It was one of the many things she regretted. A long meaningful friendship and it ended just like that.

"Alex, earth to Alex." The girl with black hair was waving her hand in front of Alex's face.

"Huh?" Alex was thrown out of her memory trip and looked at the two girls.

"Cat has been calling you for a while now." Jen said.

Alex looked at Cat. "What is it?"

"The bell rung. We're going to be late for class." Cat said.

Alex looked around and saw everyone heading for their classrooms. The three girls quickly hurried to their class.

"I sometimes wonder how you manage to get good grades, when you get distracted so easily." Cat said as they went inside their classroom.

Good grades was something Alex Russo did not get in the past. She got bad grades, was most of time late for class, and…

Alex, Cat, and Jen sat down on the last row in that order from front to back.

"Ah, Alex glad to see you. For a second there I thought you were going to be late." The teacher said, amused at the idea.

…hear that without the sarcasm.

School was something she hated and still those, but at least it never changes. Sure it's a new school with new kids and new teachers, but it still is a place for learning. That won't change and she could at least appreciate that.

But god, it was still so boring!

Her attitude towards school was still the same, but she had a reason to put everything aside and concentrate on her school work. Her parents wanted the best for her. For her to be successful and happy. But she was who she was and her parents accepted that because they loved her. If she weren't like that she wouldn't be Alex. She knew they had small hope that, once she matured, she would start doing a little better in school. That was the one thing that she was sure would've made them happy. Alex knew they were happy just the way they were, but she couldn't help, but think she could've done more. That's what she has kept thinking after her parents' death and what kept her going when she went to school.

There was one other reason.

Justin.

He gave up going to college to take care of her. He even took two jobs just for her to be able to go back to school. He gave everything up so she would have a future. Working two jobs was hard and tiring. He went to work early and came back late. Every time she thought about that, the guilt came, but he didn't let her feel bad about it. She couldn't let all his sacrifices go to waste.

After school ended, Alex was waiting with her friends in front of the school, across the street by a tree for their parents to pick them up.

"Alex, are you sure you don't want a ride?" Jen asked.

Alex smiled at them. "You guys know I don't live that far away from here."

Cat looked at Alex suspiciously. "Now that you mention it. I haven't actually seen where you live. All we know is what you told us that you live a few blocks away."

"Now that I think about it. I've never seen your house either." Jen said.

Alex's smile started to fade little by little. Cat was the first one to notice first and tried to get Jen to stop.

"You've been in our houses and met our parents, but we've never seen your-" Jen's eyes widened and she quickly covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. Jen and Cat slowly looked at Alex, but couldn't see her face. Alex was looking down and couldn't see her face well.

Ever since they became friends with Alex, they instantly liked her. The more they got to know her the more fun she was to be around with. She never was afraid to speak what she thought, but she knew when to stop if meant not to hurt someone's feelings. Her style of clothes were unique and they looked good. She defended her friends when they needed her. They knew a lot about her, but there was one important thing they knew well above all else.

Never talk about her family.

Every time they brought it up, she would get a downcast look on her face and become very quiet. They could practically feel her mood change drastically. She became depressed. After a few tries of bringing the subject of her family, they stop trying and didn't bring it up again. She would talk about her friends and boyfriends in her old school, but that was about it. They didn't know if her parents were dead or what, but it most of have been bad what happened to her. They thought it might had something to do with why she moved. Whatever it was, they would never force her to tell. They would wait for her until she was ready to tell them.

Cat and Jen glanced at Alex with worry. "Alex, I'm so sorry I…"Jen trailed off, trying to apologize as Alex looked back at them. She smiled a sad smile that made them feel guilty. It was hard for them not to look away from the sadness it gave them. They have seen it before when one of them slipped like that.

"Your mom's here." Alex said.

Jen turned around and saw her mom's car waiting for her and then turned back.

"I, um, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Jen said before leaving and giving a apologetic look. They waited a few minutes in silence before Cat's ride came and left Alex standing by the tree alone.

It were moments like this that made her feel alone. Like there was no one that could possibly understand. It felt like she was drowning in a sea of intolerable sadness and nobody could save her. And just when she couldn't bare it any longer, she remembered there was someone, who would save her. He has saved her most of her life and knows the pain she endures.

A pair of arms wrapped around her and felt a warm body behind her. Alex knew who it was without turning around.

It was him.

Justin came a little earlier than usual. He watched as Alex talked to her friends by a tree and waited for their ride. Justin stood a little distance away to give Alex some time with her friends. He smiled at seeing how happy she was, like how it used to be. He looked at all the kids that were coming out from school. It hadn't been such a long time ago that he was in high school, but the life he lives now makes it seem like it has been years. He didn't know how long he spaced out, but when his gaze went back to Alex, she was all alone by the tree. When he got closer to her, he noticed the state she was in.

He stopped walking.

Her gaze was unfocused, staring into nothingness. He knew that look and he didn't like

seeing it. Her back was turned to him when he reached her.

Alex didn't move from his embrace. She enjoyed the comfort and silence he gave. He was the only one that understood her. If it were anyone else, they would've tried talking to her just like everyone else that has tried. He knew what she needed and she didn't know where she would be if he wasn't with her. That's why was she came back to him when they took her away.

They stood like that until there weren't many kids left. Alex was the first to get back her sense of time.

"You're going to be late." She said.

"I don't care." Alex heard him say in a soft voice.

Alex was a little surprised by his answer. "Justin, you can't affo-" By mid sentence she could feel him smiling. She playfully elbowed him on his stomach, making him let go as he laughed.

Alex looked behind her as she walked away. "Hurry up. I have a job too, remember." She said as she continued to walk. Justin smiled and went to catch up with her.

They were quiet for a little while as they walked.

"So, are you the teacher's pet yet?" Justin asked.

"Shut up."

After walking for a while Alex and Justin parted ways when they reached the street corner near their apartment. Alex hurried up the stairs and went inside the apartment. She was running late and knew if she stopped for a minute, she was going to be late. Alex threw her backpack near the desk in her room and changed into more comfortable clothes. She changed into a little worn out jeans and a white t-shirt. There was just one thing she was missing.

She opened the closet and started throwing clothes looking for it. After she couldn't find anything there, she went to the dresser. "Come on, where is it?" Alex looked through each drawer. She quickly went through all of them. Alex grew frustrated as she shoved the last drawer shut. She sighed.

Alex closed her eyes and tried to remember. Her eyes snapped open as she finally remembered where she left it. She quickly got on her knees and hands and looked under the bed. There it was. Her waist apron. She grabbed it and her backpack before rushing out of her apartment.

The place she worked at was four blocks from her apartment. Alex quickly opened the door of the restaurant and headed to the kitchen's door.

"Alex, you're late!" A man said through a rectangular opening in a wall.

"I know. I got held up." Alex said walking into the kitchen. Alex worked in a sandwich restaurant as a waitress. The man was the cook and owner of the place.

"Please tell me it wasn't because of a guy." He said while still cooking.

Alex rolled her eyes as she was tying her apron. "No."

"Good, because you can talk to them here and we'll get more business that way when they come back." He said, smiling.

"Ha ha very funny, Ricky" Alex said before leaving the kitchen.

Ricky let out a small laugh.

When Alex came through the door asking if they were hiring, Ricky was about to say they didn't need any help, but that was before he saw her. He could tell she was a nice girl that was hiding something. It wasn't greed or anything like that, but pain. Pain that she hid very well. He didn't acknowledge it until he got to know her better. What made him gave in was the bit of desperation he heard in her voice. He just didn't have the heart to turn her away. He already had two other waiters, but he guessed one more wouldn't hurt. Up until now, she hasn't done anything that has made him regret his decision. She really was a nice kid.

Alex's shift was about five hours long. Her lunch breaks were probably the closet thing she had to dinner when she sometimes worked until late in the day. And if she wasn't eating during her breaks, she would use her time to do her homework.

It was around nine thirty when she got home. All she wanted to do was go to bed, but knew she still needed to finish her homework. She made sure she locked the door before going into her bedroom. Alex tossed her backpack near the desk and then her apron, not taking notice where it landed because she was too tired. That's probably why she couldn't find it in the first place. She went to take a quick shower. After that she put on her pajamas and did the rest of her homework.

Alex went to the kitchen about to get something to eat when she remembered something. She opened the fridge.

She forgot to buy the groceries.

Alex groaned and closed the fridge. Great. Now she was going to go to bed hungry. Alex walked to her room and climbed into her bed. She rested there for a minute before looking at her clock.

It was 10:36.

Justin would probably be home in two hours.

Alex turned away from the clock and tried to go to sleep.

There were three reasons why Alex wanted a job in Ricky's restaurant. One was because it was hard to find a job around there and she really needed the money. Two, because it wasn't too far away from her apartment and needed as much hours as possible to help pay the bills. The last reason was probably nothing compared to the first two, but it was very important to her. It made her feel like she still had a small piece of her past. It reminded her when she worked at her parents sub station and all the good times she had there. It was a piece of her old life that she kept the same, inside this world that kept changing around her.

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Well, this was an insight in Alex's new life. As you can tell there has been some stuff going on before Alex and Justin got where they are. Don't worry, you'll find out what happened in the not so distant fututre.

Next chapter, Justin's new life. Reviews are very welcomed!


	3. Chapter 3

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**Adapting**

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The thing about change is how unpredictable it can be. It's harsh and bold. No matter how hard you try, if the world has its heart set on it, there isn't much you can do to stop it. The only thing you can do is adapt to it and move on. Justin embraced this idea ever since he started taking care of Alex. If he didn't adapt to the new changes in his life he would lose her. It was as simple as that. He knew how cold and cruel the world could be and he was still learning. With each change that happened, a new lesson would come with it.

Alex forgot to buy the groceries yesterday and didn't have enough food for both of them. Since it was her fault she felt that Justin should eat, but he didn't let her. After fighting for a while Justin said Alex was going to make him late and she caved in.

As they hurried through the street Alex looked at Justin. "The next time there isn't enough food, you're eating."

Justin turned to look at her and saw the look of the determination she had. He smirked. "I'm sure there is going to be a next time with your forgetfulness." Alex glared at him.

"Besides" Justin started. "You are just a girl, you can't help it if you get tired with just one job." He said. Before she could smack him or say anything he ran of ahead of her, laughing.

"Hey! Come back here and say that again!" Alex said running after him.

The time he spent with Alex were probably the only fun parts of his day. Well, that and the other thing he has enjoyed since he was younger. It was fortunate for him he found a job that had that and made his day more tolerable.

After leaving Alex at her school, Justin headed for his first job. He walked on the sidewalk in the part of the city where most of the stores were. He enjoyed this time of day when the streets where very alive with all the people and cars. It made him feel better and made the loneliness that he felt deep inside disappear to an extent.

Justin passed a lot of stores before going inside one of them. It was an antique shop. The owner was an old man named Ralph that had spent most of his life traveling around the world. From every place he went he brought something back with him. Most of the antiques for sale were his. He had all kinds of old artifact, he had carpets, paintings, lamps, etc. But Justin's favorite were the books. Most of his free time was spent reading them.

The place was reasonably big. The store had a red carpet covering the entire floor. There was a big glass case with artifacts that served as the front desk and had a cash register on top of it. The case wasn't too far from the door entrance, which was in the corner of the room. The organization of the stuff was kind of random. There were shelves all over the room, filled with all sorts of things. The shelves that weren't stacked up against the walls around the room were in the center of the room which formed pathways. Not all the shelves were set up the same. Some were set up an horizontal position and others were vertical. That too was random. It was almost like a maze. You wouldn't be able to see the entrance until you got out of the maze and found the front desk. Books were piled in a corner of the room. There were more piles of books in another random places around the store. Nothing was organized. Everything was scattered on the shelves and on the floor where they wouldn't get on the way. The corner diagonally across from the entrance had a spiral staircase that went up into the attic. There was one more door in the wall across from the front door. Finally, there was a small couch facing the front desk against a shelve with two vertical shelves at both sides of the horizontal shelve, partially boxing in the couch. Even though it was disorganized it was a very cozy place.

Small bells rung as Justin opened the door. Ralph was standing near the front desk when he saw Justin come in.

"Ah, Justin there you are." Ralph greeted him with a kind smile.

Justin smiled back. "Hey, Ralph."

"Just came from dropping of your sister?" He asked.

"Yeah." Justin said.

"Aren't you such a nice brother." Ralph said as he went behind the front desk. Justin leaned on the glass case as Ralph bended over to pick something up.

"You're going to love this. We just got new inventory I think you might like to see." Ralph said bringing up a box and dropped it on the glass case. The box was full of old things.

"Really?" Justin asked as he started to look through the box. Ralph saw that gleam in his eyes at the mention of something new…er…old. Justin always got that look when he brought something new for him to see. From the moment he met Justin he knew there was something especial about him. He had never met someone his age interested in old artifacts as much as him. Every time he saw him, he was always reading an old book or looking through all his inventory in the store. He was a kid that enjoyed learning. He took good care of everything and tried not to break anything. He was the best candidate to help him run his store because he respected every single thing in it.

"When did you get these?" Justin asked still looking through the box.

"Yesterday, but I completely forgot about it." Ralph said.

Justin took out what looked like to be a cup. "Look, it's an old Incan cup!" He said, excitedly.

"How do you know?" He asked.

Justin brought it closer to him and pointed at the markings. "Because of the symbols."

Ralph putted on his glasses and looked at it closer. "You know, I think you're right." He said taking his glasses off. Ralph saw Justin smiling face as he looked at the cup. He was a very smart kid.

"Justin, have you given any thought about going to college?" He asked.

Justin put the old cup at the side and kept looking through the box. "No."

"Why not?"

"Ralph, you know why." Justin said, examining more items from the box.

Yeah, he knew why. Justin had his heart set on taking care of his sister. To him, she came first, before anything else.

"What about after you have enough money to only have one job?"

Justin laughed a little when he said that. "The day I only have to work one job would the day I win the lottery."

Ralph furrowed his eyebrows a little. "Your financial problems can't be that bad." He didn't sound like he believed his own words.

Justin picked up what looked like an old flute and looked closely at it. "I have to work constantly. If I stop working for even a week we would fall behind and be on the streets the following month." He put the flute at the side.

"No, I'm just going to have to keep working until she has a better place to live and enough money to support herself." Justin said, looking at him.

"What about _your _life?" Ralph asked.

Justin shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine with my life as it is. It's all about adapting."

Ralph didn't say anything after that, but he felt sad for him. No one so young deserved to have so limited options.

They both continued to search through the box. When they reached the bottom of the box they found a book. Ralph picked it up and wiped the dust off. He opened it and looked through the pages.

"Huh," Justin looked at him. "it's in Latin." Ralph said.

"Do you know Latin?" Justin asked.

"A little."

Justin started to put everything back in the box while Ralph continued to flip through the pages.

"Hm."

Justin looked at him while putting the stuff away. "What is it?"

"From looking at it, it talks a lot about time." He said, closing the book.

"Time?" Justin asked. Ralph nodded and put the book back in the box.

"You should take a look at it since you enjoy reading so much." Ralph said, smiling.

Justin lifted the box and began walking to the maze of shelves. "I tell you what. If I ever learn Latin, it will at the top of my reading list." Justin said as he walked.

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Alex was waiting in her usual spot by the tree for Justin. After getting the awkward conversation about yesterday out of the way with Cat and Jen, it was a pretty normal day. Nothing new, just like she liked it. Alex looked around, but didn't see any sign of Justin. He was running late.

"Where is he? He was the one complaining this morning about being late and now look." She said.

She didn't notice the shadow over her until she felt someone grabbing her shoulders from behind. By instinct, she elbowed the person. Alex turned around and saw she knocked the air out of Justin.

"Justin! Don't surprise me like that!" Alex said, while Justin held his stomach.

Justin coughed, trying to regain his breath "You just reminded me why I don't sneak up on you." He said in a out of breath voice.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, think of it like it was for what you said morning." She said, but then paused. "Actually…" Alex punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"Can we leave or do you want to hit me some more?" Justin said.

Alex looked at him. "That's not even question." She said, getting ready to hit him, again.

Justin quickly raised his hands in front of him. "Okay, okay, let's go." He quickly said and started to walk.

"I can't wait for spring break!" Alex exclaimed as they walked.

"Alex, spring break isn't until next month." Justin said.

"Yes, but it's the only thing I've been looking forward to for relaxation and to actually have some fun." Alex said, slumping her shoulders.

"Aw, is my little sister exhausted." He said, smiling.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"I can't blame you." He said. Alex looked at him. "If I had time off. I would probably be looking forward to it, too." Alex's eyes sadden a little.

That's right. He didn't get any vacations and the weird part was…she never heard him complain. She always talked to him about how her job was tiring while he never said anything about his jobs. Alex could guess why. He probably didn't want to make her feel bad. He was thinking of her. But even though he was doing this for her, she didn't like that he wasn't being honest with her.

She didn't like that one bit.

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Unlike the job in the antique store, his second job wasn't as entertaining. Justin worked at a warehouse in a more rundown part of the city. The way to the warehouse was proof of that.

The streets Justin walked on were poor looking with trash and a few homeless people walking around. Old beat up cars with broken windows were parked everywhere. Some didn't even have wheels. This was only one side though. This was the quiet, poor side. Other streets were more alive with people, but not very friendly. That side took over during the night.

Just like any other warehouse, it was huge. It was pretty deserted around the warehouse. No one was around, which probably was because there wasn't much to do around there. Justin walked inside through a door that was near two big doors that were for loading and unloading. The giant room was filled with all kind of boxes, big and small ones. After entering he immediately turned to the right where a small office was. He walked towards it and opened the door.

Justin sighed. The guy before him most of left his shift early. He couldn't blame him. The job had to be the most boring job ever. All he had to do was make sure nothing happened and check everything was there every once and a while. The most exciting part was when there had to be loading or unloading and he had to help. He couldn't complain though. The pay was good and that was all that matter to him. Besides, he got a good work out.

It wasn't so bad.

"He could've at least locked before he left." Justin said.

It was usually late when his shift was over. It was amazing how different everything looked at night. Also, how more…interesting people came out.

The streets were definitively more alive with all sorts of things. Justin kept his gaze forward as he walked. He didn't pay attention to his surroundings. Mostly, because he already knew what was probably happening. It was always the same. Homeless people gathered around barrels with fire for heat. Hookers on every corner. Drug dealers near alleys doing what they do best. And sometimes the screams of someone getting mugged or worse.

He once made the mistake of staring at someone and took it the wrong way. He barely escaped and was only left with a few bruises. Fortunately, they weren't on his face so he was able to hide them from Alex. After that, it took some time, but he adapted and learned how to handle himself.

Everything was dark when he got inside their apartment. He quietly walked inside her bedroom and found her like most nights, sleeping. It was always the first thing he did when he got home. To make sure she was fine, but most of all that she was there. He walked over to the side of the bed and sat carefully sat down. He slowly reached out and gently petted her head. He didn't know where he would be in this lonely world without her. She was the only thing that kept him going, the only thing he had to look forward to.

He bent down and kissed the top of her head before getting up.

If he didn't learn how to adapt there was no way he could've taken care of her. Every time something changed, he had to adapt or he would risk losing her. He didn't notice how every time he adapted he changed a little inside. The more he adapted, the more he changed. Even if he knew how he was changing, he wouldn't care if it meant keeping her safe and happy. Because when it came down to it, it was all about adapting.

**-+-**

* * *

What do you guys think? Justin's life is different isn't it.


	4. Chapter 4

**-+-**

**Memories**

**-+-**

August 13, 2008

Smoke rose to the sky as rain poured down onto the streets. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars were gathered around a destroyed building with their lights flashing. Flames covered the bottom of the building. With the rain and fire trucks, the fire died down little by little. There were many people like there were cars. There were as many injured people as there were people trying to help. Ambulances came and went, taking the injured people to the hospital.

While all this chaos was happening a particular ambulance that was parked near by had a girl lying on a gurney. She had black hair and was wearing a dress that was a little torn. She had a few scratches and bruises. The girl slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She sat up, but winced, her body hurt all over. She once again looked around, trying to remember what happened. An instant, it all came rushing back to her, but now wishing she hadn't. She quickly got out of the ambulance, ignoring the pain. The girl's eyes were glued to the burning building as she slowly made her way towards it. She stood completely still when she got closer and watched the fire.

"Mom…dad." She said in low, fragile voice. That's when her emotions finally caught up to her.

"MOM! DAD!" She screamed as tears started coming down her face.

A near by medic saw the girl and quickly went to the girl before she did something stupid. The medic woman got there just in time to stop the screaming girl from running into the destroyed building.

It took the medic some time to get the girl back into the ambulance. After a little while, the girl calmed down a little just enough for her to start gathering her thoughts.

Her mom, her dad, her little brother, they were…

The girl held her head. Her mind trying to deny what had happened. The girl's eyes snapped open as a thought came to her. She rushed out of the vehicle, again. The medic had already left after the girl stopped trying to get out. Her attention was no longer on the building, but looking around.

The rain had already stopped and the fire was almost completely out. She frantically looked all over the place with her eyes, desperately searching. Her mind refused acknowledging what has happened, but it did let her search for certain individual that was part of a reality she could still face.

The girl walked through the crowd of people, looking for him. She didn't even think where to look. After desperately searching all over the place, she couldn't find him. There were just too many people moving. Finally, she stopped and clamed herself down as much as she possibly could. She wasn't going to find him like this. Now that she was calmer, she began to think. He had to be there. He was with her when the explosion happened, so if she woke up in the…

She quickly looked around for the ambulances. There were a lot of them, but they kept going and coming. She started to panic again.

_What if he was already gone? She thought._

The girl caught something at the corner of her eye. It was the ambulance door that someone just closed. She could've sworn she saw him lying inside. It was getting ready to leave. She immediately rushed over to it. Right as it started to move she opened the door. Seeing the back door open from the side view mirror, the driver stopped. The medic inside quickly went over and grabbed the door handle.

"Girl, what do you think you're doing?" The medic asked annoyed. Tonight was already stressful enough.

The girl wasn't even looking at the medic. Her eyes were focused on the person on the gurney.

It wasn't him.

The medic said something else she didn't hear and closed the door.

The girl kept looking through every ambulance she saw. She saw all the people that had suffered, but none of them were him. Desperation started eating at her. The longer she looked for him the more her sanity began to break. Her mind stayed away from what she had lost, knowing she wouldn't be able to keep going if she had time to think. Instead, it tried to think of ways of finding him.

The fire had finally died down and all that was left was smoke. She surveyed the area and saw all the destruction. Just as the fire had been extinguished, her will was leaving her. Just when she was about to lose her strength, her mind went back to the explosion. She suddenly stopped.

Glass.

She had heard glass breaking right before she lost consciousness. He was right beside her when it happened. It had to mean something. She quickly looked at the side of the ruined building in the small passage way between the buildings. That's where they were when it happened.

The girl didn't waste anytime and ran. Her heart pounded in her chest rapidly as she got closer. The minute she was there her eyes landed on the broken window at the side of the building opposite from the destroyed one. She tried looking inside through the window, but it was too dark to see because the lights were out. It didn't help that the bottom of the window started just below her neck. She was about to try to climb through it, but then noticed the shards of glass sticking out the edges. She had to find another way in. She went back out into the street and looked for an entrance. There was a door near by. Surprisingly it was unlocked making it easy to go inside.

From what she could see, it was a hall and the only light was coming from the broken window she was trying to look through before, at the end of the hall. She slowly made her way to the window. Once her sight got used to the darkness she was able to see a body sprawled on the floor near the window. The girl immediately rushed to it. Fresh tears had started coming out the moment she saw her brother, but she didn't seem to notice.

She knelt down and slowly reached towards him with a trembling hand. She was afraid to find out that he…

"Justin." She said, laying a hand on his chest.

"Justin. It's me, Alex." She said in a weak voice, shaking him lightly. She slowly moved her hand up to his face.

"Please wake up." The tears wouldn't stop anymore.

Alex laid her head on his chest. She didn't know what to do. She was so scared. What if he didn't wake up? She didn't know what she would do. Her mind couldn't hold back anymore. She couldn't avoid it. She had to face the cold truth.

Her family was gone.

That's when the sobs came. Her emotions came all at once and hit her with full force. Even though she was crying loudly, nobody could hear her.

Justin didn't know what was happening. All he knew was his head was pounding and out in the distance he thought he heard crying, but he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up. He had a terrifying feeling he wasn't going to like what awaited him. What woke him up was the voice. Between the crying he could hear words, faintly. He knew that voice.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the dark ceiling. He felt a little pressure on his chest and wetness.

"Please…wake up…I…don't…want to…be alone." He heard her say between sobs.

Alex suddenly froze when she felt a hand on her back.

"Alex, why are you crying?" He asked. Alex raised her head and looked him with her tear streaked face.

"Justin?" She spoke in a quivering voice. Tears once again started dropping, but it wasn't because she was sad. Alex was completely on top of him and cried on his shoulder.

The pounding in his head subsided after awhile. Justin tried looking at Alex, but couldn't because she was clinging to his neck.

"Alex, why are-?" Justin's eyes went wide as it all came back to him. He gently got Alex off of him and stood up.

He didn't have to walk far. The broken window was only a few feet away. With each step he took the feeling of dread grew. His face went pale white when he looked outside. Alex's crying and the noise from outside went away as he looked at the ruined building.

Unlike Alex, his mind didn't try to hide reality. His dad, his mom, his little brother, they were…

He slowly turned around and his back went against the wall. He slid down the wall until he wasn't standing anymore. He felt completely void. His body started shutting down on its own. He didn't even notice Alex sitting down next to him and holding his arm tightly with her head on his shoulder.

---------------------------------------

Their once warm, homey loft felt very cold when they got home. When they left there were five of them. Now there was only the two of them. Neither of them bothered to turn on the lights as they walked in. Without a word Justin sat on the couch and Alex went into the hall.

Justin just sat there with the same lifeless expression from before. It was like he wasn't even there. The shower could be heard being turned on, but he didn't seem to hear it. Justin has always been one to analyze every problem that has come his way. He has always come to a solution and even if couldn't come up with one, it would just take time. But this…this was too much. This problem wasn't a math equation or one of Alex's problems. This was way over him and his mind was unable to…to _fix_ this. Worst of all, he didn't have his heart to drive him. His heart felt completely empty. His mind was overloaded and he couldn't feel his heart. The two things he needed weren't there.

Alex didn't know how long she has cried, but she was emptied out. The hot water relaxed her body, but her soul was far from it. She didn't think anything was going to keep her calm.

After she got out of the shower, she went into her room. She quickly changed into her pajamas, not wanting to stay there long. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in a room. She walked into the living room and found Justin just like she had left him, sitting in the dark. She let the room remain in darkness as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to him.

They both sat in silence with Alex sniffing every now and then from her crying earlier. She brought her legs up and hugged them close to her. Minutes passed and no one spoke a word. Almost an hour passed before one of them moved. Alex had her eyes half closed with her head resting on Justin's shoulder. She was falling asleep, but she didn't want to sleep like this. She stood up and stepped in front of Justin. She stared at him for a minute before she started to untie his shoes. She would have taken his jacket off, but he didn't have it. She vaguely remembered him giving it to her, but it must have been lost in the chaos.

When she finished taking his shoes off, she slowly pushed him down to lie on his back. Alex got on the couch and laid down half on the couch and half on him because of the little room. She grabbed his arm and wrapped it around herself. She snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his chest. She didn't know if Justin was awake or not, and she didn't care why he wasn't moving. All that matter to her was that he was just there.

---------------------------------------

The next morning the sun rose to the sky like any other day, but inside the once happy Russo household was eerily quiet.

Justin woke up first which he was glad. His dreams were anything, but welcoming. He was a little sweaty from them. There were two things he noticed, now that he was fully awake. The first thing was he saw Alex was lying almost on top of him. Last night, he didn't remembered when he fell asleep or when Alex laid down with him. She was holding him very tight and she was trembling. It seemed her dreams were as bad as his. He slowly rubbed her back, trying to make her relax. He didn't even know if he was doing it. It was like his body was doing it on its own. When she clamed down, he remembered the other thing he noticed. The phone had been rigging, but it already stopped.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall back to sleep, but it seemed he was done sleeping for the day as the phone started to ring again. Justin sighed and carefully got out of the couch to not wake Alex. He didn't how much he succeeded in that as she began to stir. He walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" Justin said. It didn't sound like his own voice. It sounded empty.

Alex sat up and rubbed her eyes. Once the grogginess wore off she looked over at Justin. She saw he was done talking because he was just holding the phone. He stared at the phone for a few moments and then turned his gaze at Alex. He stared at her unable to speak. A few moments passed before he regained his voice.

"They found Max."

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* * *

Now that was a jump back. I hope you liked it.


	5. Chapter 5

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**Ups and Downs**

**-+-**

"Yes! Spring break, finally!" A very happy Alex said, coming out of school. Cat and Jen were right behind Alex.

Cat smirked. "Most people that get good grades don't like when school is closed." She said as they crossed the street to their usual spot by the tree.

Alex kept walking pretending she didn't hear her. "I'm sorry, did you say something? I go deaf when someone brings up anything relating to school during vacations." Alex said looking over her shoulder at her. Jen giggled and Cat rolled her eyes. The girls stood under the tree.

"Sure, keep this up and I'll uninvited to my family's trip." Cat said.

Alex pouted. "You wouldn't do that, would you?" Cat didn't say anything, she just looked at her nails with a little smile.

"Caaaaaaat." Alex whined.

Spring Break had come to their school with two weeks of vacation. Alex didn't know what she was going to do for the first week, but for the second week Alex and Jen were invited to come along to Cat's family trip.

"Cat, Cat, Cat, Cat, Cat." Alex kept saying. She has been saying her name for the last ten minutes while tugging her arm.

"Alright! You're still invited just stop saying my name!" Cat said, getting her arm back. Alex smiled.

"You still haven't told us where we're going." Jen said.

Cat looked over at her. "Really? I thought I told you." Then she grinned. "Then I'll make it a surprise."

"Oh, come on, Cat. Tell us." Alex said. Cat saw Alex from the corner of her eye going for her arm again.

"Touch my arm, again and I'll break yours." Cat said, narrowing her eyes.

Alex smiled. "You know, no one in my old school would've had the nerve to say that to me."

"Well, they don't know me."

"True." Alex nodded.

"Can you give us a hint?" Jen asked, getting their attention.

"Just bring extra clothes." She said as her mom's car came into view.

"That's not a hint." Alex said.

"It's not suppose to be." Cat said, opening the car door. As she started to leave she popped her head out the window. "I almost forgot. Don't forget to bring a swim suit for the lake-" Cat had her mouth hanging open as she realized her mistake. Alex and Jen looked at each other and smiled.

"Camping trip!" They both cheered.

Cat sat back down. "So much for the surprise." She murmured to herself.

_-------------------------------------------------_

Alex couldn't stop thinking of how, for once, things were working out for her as she walked to work. No school, which was always a plus, and no work for a week. She still had to work the first week of vacation, but Ricky was nice enough to give her the second week off for her trip. Alex smiled to herself as she walked inside the sandwich shop. It paid off being in the boss's good side.

"Hey, Ricky." Alex walked inside the kitchen. Ricky was doing what he usually did, making sandwiches in the counter.

"Oh, look who's on time." He said with his usual playful banter.

"I was late one time and you're already holding it against me." She said as she put her backpack somewhere where it wouldn't get in the way.

"You bet ya. It's not often you screw up." He said, smiling.

_You obviously haven't seen me with magic._ Alex thought, tying her apron. After getting ready she went to the door to leave.

"Oh, Alex before I forget. Do you think your brother can stop by?" Ricky said, turning to look at her.

Alex had a hand on the door as she looked at him. "What for?"

"The cash register is not working, again. I was hoping he could fix it like last time." He said. She could already see his begging face.

"I don't know. He's very busy." Alex said. Justin already had his hands full with his two jobs. She didn't want to bother him with her job.

"Please Alex. I'll let you get off early for an entire week." She thought about it for a moment.

"Alright." She said still not too fond of the idea. "I just hope you treat him better than you did last time." She said, furrowing her eyebrows a little.

Ricky smiled sheepishly. "Riiiight."

He remembered what happened that time. It wasn't his fault! It was his first time meeting the guy. He met him just shortly after hiring Alex. It was when Alex still didn't talk much and just did her work without a word. She didn't say much about herself and was very closed. At first he thought she was a troubled girl with a bad past and didn't like to let people in. She couldn't blame him for what happened when he met Justin.

_Flashback_

_Ricky watched from the opening on the wall as Alex worked. It was almost a month since he hired her. The more he watched her the more he noticed the certain sadness that surrounded her. It was barely noticeable, but if you took the time to look at her you could see it. Looking at her he remembered when his daughter was her age. She was in college now. Like any other loving parent he was protective of his little girl and just looking at Alex reminding him of his daughter. It made him have a soft spot for her._

_Alex came walking into the kitchen and put the dirty dishes she was carrying in the sink._

"_Alex you can take your break now." He said. Alex looked over at him and nodded quietly. She went over to corner of the room and sat on the floor with her back against the wall where her backpack was. She quietly took out her things and started doing her homework._

_Ricky kept giving her side glances every now and then as he worked. Every day was the same, she worked and during her breaks she did her school work. It didn't bother him that she did her homework, but what did bother him was how quiet she was. She hardly talked and that was the problem. To him, she didn't seem to be the quiet type. He knew he didn't know her, but it was just unsettling how silent she was. Maybe now was a good time to get to know her._

"_Can I ask you something?" He suddenly asked._

_Alex raised her head and looked at him, not sure if he was talking to her._

"_Uh, sure." Not really knowing what else to say._

"_Why do you work so much? You work almost all week." Ricky asked as he made sandwiches, trying to be casual. _

_There was a moment of silence. _

"_I…I just really need the money." She said. Since he wasn't looking at her, he couldn't see her looking down at nothing._

"_What? You're saving up for a car or something?" He asked. There was another pause._

"_It's for rent."_

"_For rent? Don't you live with your parents?" She couldn't be on her own, she was only fifteen!_

"_No." _

_Ricky turned to look at her. She was calmly looking at him like noting was wrong. He didn't want to ask her why, he thought that would be pushing it. "Do you live alone?" Alex smiled a little and shook her head. "No, I live with someone." Ricky was confused. If she didn't live with her family, who did she live with? Who could she live with alone? Ricky gave it more thought before looking back Alex. She had gone back to doing her homework. Ricky went back to work, thinking of what he had just learned about her._

_Not long after their conversation, a person walked into the shop. He looked to be looking around for someone. After looking for a bit he saw Ricky working through the opening._

_Ricky continued to work when he suddenly smelled something. He looked over at the two trash bins that were overflowing with garbage._

"_Kid, do you think you could take the trash out? It's starting to smell." He said. Alex took her book from her lap and stood up. "Okay." She took the bags out and tied them up._

"_Do you need help with the door?" Ricky asked as he watched her go to the backdoor._

_Alex was having a little hard time opening the door. "I got it." She said. It took her a bit of time before she could open the door._

_After Alex left he went back to work. "Stubborn kid."_

"_Excuse me, sir?" Ricky looked up and saw a boy standing at the other side of the opening. "I'm looking for Alex. She works here right?" Ricky looked at him closer. He looked like he was eighteen. Why would he be looking for Alex?_

"_Who might you be?" He asked._

"_Oh, I'm Justin." Justin's eyebrows drop a little. "Didn't she say anything about me?"_

"_No, she doesn't talk much." Ricky frowned slightly. Apparently this guy knew Alex. Then a thought came to him. What if he was her boyfriend? He mentally shook his head, not liking the idea._

That's strange. _Justin thought._

_Ricky narrowed his eyes a little. "Are you the one she lives with?" He suddenly asked._

_Justin smiled. "Yeah. She did tell you about me."_

_If she didn't live with her family than this guy was really her boyfriend that she lived with. He didn't like this at all. She was so young! What if she had run away with him? That didn't set well with him. Taking advantage of an innocent girl like that. He probably had sweet talked her into it. The more Ricky thought about it the more mad he got._

"_Come inside." He said firmly._

_Justin could sense he was angry. He just didn't know why._

"_O-okay." Justin walked around to the door. When he came inside Ricky had stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at him. Justin saw he had his arms crossed and had a scowl on his face._

"_Um…is Alex here?" Justin asked a little nervous when he saw the knife he was using earlier on his hand. It didn't calm him one bit when Ricky started walking his way._

"_Justin right?" Ricky asked as he stood a few feet from him. Justin would have backed away, but he was already backed against the wall._

"_Listen, that girl is a nice kid and I don't like what I see when I look at her." He said in intimidating voice._

"_What? I-" He didn't let Justin finish. "I don't like how you have been taking advantage of such a sweet girl." Ricky said leaning closer to Justin. _

"_Advantage? I haven't-" Ricky cut him off by slamming his hand on the wall next to his head._

"_You should be ashamed of yourself for deceiving such an innocent girl." Justin tried to form words, but couldn't say anything. The poor guy was so confused he didn't know what was happening._

"_Now see here I don't know what kind of guy you are, but that girl deserves better." Now Justin was completely lost._

"_I don't know what you're-" Justin couldn't finish because he had to duck when Ricky tried to grab him._

"_Wait! I don't-" Justin quickly moved to get away from Ricky. _

_Ricky started chasing after Justin all over the kitchen. The customers outside the kitchen heard all the commotion and yelling._

"_I can't imagine the things you've done to that girl!" _

_They could hear them running around in the kitchen._

"_I haven't done anything to her!"_

_Pans could be heard dropping on the floor._

"_You probably made her think you cared about her!"_

"_I do care about her!"_

"_Don't lie to me!"_

_More running could be heard._

"_I'm not-don't throw the knife!"_

_They heard something hitting the wall._

"_Get off my counter!"_

"_You just threw a knife at me!"_

"_Your stepping all over the food!"_

_The people couldn't see what was happening. They only saw Justin or Ricky occasionally run by the opening in the wall. They even saw Justin running on the counter. The opening wasn't that big, the kitchen was mostly covered by the wall._

_Justin got off the counter and made a dash for the backdoor. Just before he could touch the handle, the door opened and hit him right on the face._

"_I'm so sorry I didn't-" Alex said as she walked in, but stopped when she saw the mess the kitchen was in. There was food all over the floor along with pans and…were those shoe prints on the sandwiches? But what surprised her more was that Justin was here and was on the floor holding his nose._

_Alex raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "What's going on?"_

_Ricky was standing in the middle of the room panting with his hands on his knees and Justin took the chance to crawl behind Alex while holding his nose._

"_I have no idea! Ask him?" Justin said, looking at Ricky. Alex looked at Justin then at Ricky. _

_Ricky stood up straight and glared at Justin. "We were just having a man to man talk." He said._

"_Man to man talk?! You almost killed me!" Justin said as he pointed at the wall that had a knife stuck in it._

"_Oh, we're not done talking, come here!" Ricky said walking over to them. Justin grabbed Alex's leg and hid behind her._

"_Ricky, why are you so angry with Justin?" She asked._

_Ricky glanced at her and his face soften. "I know that this is the person you live with. A young girl like you shouldn't be living alone with a guy like him." Both Alex and Justin caught on with what he said. He thought he was her boyfriend. _

_Justin relaxed, finally knowing what was going on. Well, now he could explain-_

"_I was hoping you wouldn't find out." Alex said, making Justin's head shot up to look at her. "I didn't want you to find out I was living with my boyfriend."_

_Ricky looked at Alex sympathy while Justin had his mouth hanging open._

"_He said it would be better if we got our on place, but I didn't know it was going to be so hard." Alex said sounding like she was about to cry._

"_What?!" Justin yelled, standing up._

"_It's so tiring and plus all the things he makes me do at night on the bed."_

…………

_And the chase went on, but this time Ricky took out all his knifes out._

"_ALEX!!!"_

_-------------------------------------------------_

_After awhile of running around the restaurant Ricky calmed down and Alex explained who Justin really was. They ended up closing the shop early. Justin was helping Alex and Ricky along with the other two waiters clean up the mess they made._

"_You should have told me you were her brother." Ricky said, cleaning the tables with a rag._

"_I was trying to." Justin said, picking up plates and broken plates from the ground._

"_Well, you should learn how to speak faster."_

"_Okay you two what's in the past is in the past." Alex said as she mopped the floor._

"_You made things worse!" Justin said, putting the plates on the nearest table._

"_Oh, quit your whining it wasn't that bad." She said, mopping near where he was. _

"_Wasn't that bad. Wasn't that bad! I had knifes thrown at me!" Justin said, facing her._

"_Think of it as a life lesson." She responded as she stop moping and held the mop with one hand to face him._

"_Lesson? What lesson?!" Justin asked._

"_Well, when sharp things are thrown at you you should learn how to move quick." She said._

"_That's not a lesson!"_

_Ricky continued to clean the tables as he watched them argue. By the looks of it, this was usual for them. But the thing that really got his attention was Alex. She was completely different from the Alex that has been working for him. This girl before him was full of life, she was full of confidence and spirit. And she certainly wasn't a quiet pushover. He turned his attention to Justin. Ever since he showed up Alex has been this way._

_Ricky looked at both of them as they talked and a smile grew on his face. He understood now. They both brought something out from each other that just made things…right with each other. He didn't know how Justin was, but this Alex was way better than the one he has come to know. They were a very interesting pair._

"_Ricky." One of the waiters said._

"_What is it Shawn?" He asked looking over at him._

_Shawn pointed at the cash register in front of him. "The cash register seems to have stop working. I think it because it fell when you guys were…running around." He said._

_Ricky sighed and walked over there. "Let me see."_

_Ricky looked over it, but he couldn't get it to turn on. "I think it really is busted and I don't think I have the money to get a new one."_

_Alex and Justin argument had already ended and they went back to cleaning. Justin was picking up more plates when he heard them talking._

"_If you want I could check it." He said as he walked over to the cash register._

_Ricky looked at him and raised his eyebrows. "You think you can fix it?"_

"_Probably, I just need a screw driver and a few other things." Justin said as he examined it._

_After getting what he needed he opened the register and started working on it. They all watched as he took a few parts out and fixed them._

"_Can he really fix it?" Ricky asked Alex, who was standing next to him._

"_He's a dork, it's what he does best." She responded. Ricky looked at Alex for a few moments before turning his gaze back to Justin._

_Almost an hour passed. While Justin was working on the cash register the others went back to cleaning up. Most of the place was clean when Justin finished._

"_And finished." Justin said as he finished putting the cash register back together._

_Ricky went over to Justin and turned it on. "Wow, you really did fixed it." He turned back to Justin. "Thank you. I can't pay you what I would normally pay for a work like this, but I could pay you some if you want."_

"_Really?" Justin said with a small grin. "Well…" Alex went behind Justin and pinched him on the back of his arm. Justin winced, but tried not to show it. "No, it's alright."_

"_Are you sure?" Ricky asked. _

_Justin nodded. "Yeah." When Ricky turned around, Justin gave Alex a small glare as he rubbed his arm._

_A few minutes later Justin was sweeping the floor when he noticed the clock on the wall. He stopped sweeping the floor and turned to look at Alex. "I have to go. The guy before me at the warehouse was sleeping when I came for my shift, but he probably already woke up and left." He explained._

_Ricky came from the kitchen as he handed Alex the broom._

"_It was nice meeting you." Justin said, shaking Ricky's hand._

_Ricky smiled. "You too."_

_He looked at Alex as he started walking to the door. "I'll see you back at the apartment." Alex nodded and raised her hand to say bye._

"_Come by anytime." Ricky said as Justin left._

_Alex and Ricky started walking back to the kitchen. He turned his head at Alex._

"_That was a mean trick you pulled on him back in the kitchen." He said._

_Alex looked at him and smirked. "That's what _I_ do best."_

_Now this Alex he could get used to._

_Flashback_

Ricky looked at Alex as she took orders. She sure changed after that day. She no longer was the quiet girl from back then. Now that he remembered it really wasn't his fault with what happened with Justin. Well, maybe it was at the beginning, but the rest was hers. He'd better get used to it he supposed since this was the real Alex. He couldn't complain he guessed. After all, everything had its ups and downs.

He stopped looking at Alex and looked over at the cash register. Hopefully, Justin will fix it for free again.

**-+-**

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What can I say summer bring the lazyness out of me. I don't know how long it has been since my last update (I never do keep track), but it feels like it has been awhile, so here it is. Please be kind to leave a review.


	6. Chapter 6

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**Something Different**

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Some people like to think ignorance is a bliss. You're unaware of the things that can upset you, make you angry, or fill you with sadness. It protects the world you have created around you. Everyone has their own world and its called a routine. It usually consists of waking up, going to work or school, come back home, eat, sleep, and start all over again. But when you stop doing your routine that you have been doing for a long time and do something different, it feels like your in different world, yet it's the same one. You see things that you never have before, even when it has been staring at you in the face.

Justin watched from the door as Alex slept peacefully. It was nice to see her rest and not worry about school. He hoped she wouldn't wake up at least until noon, she needed it. Alex rolled to her side in her sleep. Justin smiled and slowly closed the door to not make a sound. He had come to check on her before he left for work. As he walked to the door to leave, he suddenly stopped and held his stomach for a few seconds. Justin didn't let it bother him since he was already used to it and left through the door.

1:38 PM

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Alex was lying on her stomach when the alarm went off. The alarm startled her, making her shoot up her upper body into the air with her hands supporting her. Her eyes were half closed and she had a little bit of drool in the corner of her mouth. She turned her head to the clock and stared at it, not fully awake yet. She scooted over to it and shut it off. She stretched her back and then let herself fall down to her pillow face down with a grunt.

"Sure, now it works and is not even the right time I set it." Her voice was muffled by the pillow. After trying to go back to sleep for a couple of minutes, Alex gave up and got out of bed. She headed out of her room and went into the bathroom. When she was done she walked to the kitchen with her pajamas still on. She made herself some cereal and started eating on the couch. It didn't take her long to finish. Alex looked around the room and left the bowl on the ground. It felt strange just sitting in the apartment and just doing nothing. She laid down with her hands behind her head and looked at the ceiling.

_Now what? _Alex sighed. _Cat and Jen are busy and I don't feel like just lying around all day._ Just a few minutes passed and she was already growing bored. She was started to become a little annoyed with not being able to think of something. It figures, now that she had time for herself, she couldn't think of anything to do. Alex raised her hands into the air and looked at them. She stared at her opened hands for a minute. _Maybe…I could…_Alex shook her head and lowered her hands. It has been some time since she last did anything with it and she was done with it…they _both_ were. No, there had to be something else. Maybe she could go to the mall or something. She couldn't buy anything, but she could still look around.

Alex got off the couch and went back to her room to change. When she came out she still felt a little hungry.

"I guess now that I don't have to rush anywhere I can actually eat more." Alex opened the fridge and took her time looking and smiled. "I hardly noticed all the food we have. Well, I did go shopping two days ago, but…" A frown started to appear on her face as she examined the food in the fridge closer. _It's almost as if…_

Alex shut the fridge and rushed out the door.

The antique store was calm as always. Ralph was peacefully reading the newspaper behind the glass case when he heard the small bells ring. A black hair girl walked in and he immediately recognized her.

"Alex?" Ralph smiled. "This is a surprise. It's been a while since the last time I saw you."

"Hi, Ralph." Alex said, looking around. When she couldn't find Justin she looked at him. "Where's Justin?" Alex said in a firm voice.

"Uhh…" He could tell she wasn't in a good mood. "he's in the attic." He said pointing to the spiral stairs that could be seen over the shelves. Alex quickly walked into the maze of shelves without saying a word.

Ralph watched as she walked away. "I wonder what the boy did."

When Alex stepped into the attic, she found Justin sitting on a chair near a table with a lamp at the other side of the attic. The attic was mostly used for storage and the only source of light was the lampon the table because there were no windows. She quietly made her way to where he was and looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

Alex rolled her eyes. _Of course._

He was reading a book.

She silently leaned over his shoulder until her lips were close to his ear. "What do you think you're doing?" She whispered. Justin jumped out of his sit and quickly turned around to see a glaring Alex with her arms crossed.

Justin rested his hand over his heart. "Alex, you almost gave a heart attack."

Alex didn't stop glaring and walked closer to him, crossing his personal space. Their faces were only a few inches apart. "What do you thing you are doing?" She repeated more slowly.

"What are you tal-" Before he could finish, Alex grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it up. Justin forced his shirt back down. "What are you doing?!" He asked, getting annoyed. Alex stepped back, but continued to glare at him.

"When was the last time you ate?" She asked, but it sounded more like a demand.

"What?" Justin had a confused expression. Seeing as she wasn't going to answer him, he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Last night." Alex narrowed her eyes. "What did you eat?"

"A few sandwiches. Are we done with the twenty questions?" Justin didn't like where this was going.

"The bread hasn't been opened since I bought it." Alex responded. Justin just stared at her without saying a word.

"Justin, haven't you been eating?" She dropped the glare and now she just looked concerned. Justin turned his face away from her. "Justin, look at me." When he didn't listen to her, she grabbed his face with her hands and made him look at her.

"What's wrong?" He could see she really was worried and sighed. He grabbed her wrists and brought down her hands to his chest. "Nothing's wrong."

"Then why haven't you been eating?" Justin let go of her and walked passed her.

Alex watched as he walked to the stairs. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"No! I will worry about it!" She quickly walked to the stairs and blocked him. Justin tried to go down the stairs, but she wouldn't let him. "Alex, move!"

"Not until you tell me why you haven't been eating." She stubbornly said. Justin sighed in frustration. "Look, it's not because I don't want to, it's because…" Justin sighed and dropped his head.

"Because what?" Alex tried to see his face.

Justin raised his head. "Because I can't." Alex frowned. "What do you mean you can't?" Justin looked at her for a few moments and sighed. "I don't have time Alex." He looked so tired when he said that. She looked at him confused. "I have to wake up early to go to work and I have two jobs. I don't have the time to eat." He said.

Alex stared at him blankly at him. She slowly started to understand. He was finally showing the toll everything was taking on him. Alex didn't know what to think. A part of her felt happy he wasn't hiding from her what he was really feeling, but another part felt more worried. But most importantly, how could she have not notice?

Justin walked over to the wall and leaned against it, not meeting her gaze.

"Why don't you just make something so you can eat during your breaks?" She sounded small.

"When Alex?" Justin looked at her. "When I get home dead tired and barely have energy to change." He raised his voice. All the frustration that has been building up and exhaustion were catching up to him. " When I'm working here or at the warehouse!" His voice rose even more, making Alex flinch, but he didn't notice. "And why I can't buy something to eat? Because we can't afford to!" He was outright yelling at the end. As soon as he realized he was yelling and saw her sadden face, he regretted it.

Now it was Alex's face that dropped to the floor. So, that's why he hasn't been eating right. Out of both them, he was the one that had it the hardest. As the days passed she grew accustomed to her new life. Everyday was waking up, going to school, work, home, and sleep. She has been so busy that she has never taken the time to think of the small things like this.

As she finished these thoughts her expression started to change. Well now what? Was she just going to stand there and mope? Alex clenched her fists.

Before Justin could say anything, Alex ran down the stairs. Justin closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the wall. The last thing he wanted was to yell at her. He stayed up there long enough to hear the bells signaling Alex leaving. When he came down, Ralph was near the door looking outside.

He turned to look at him. "What did you do?"

Justin didn't answer. He just stared at the door.

Doing nothing and sulking was not something she did anymore. The last time it happened it just led to more misery. The only thing it did was ruin her friendship with her best friend. Since Harper, she swore she would never make the same mistake again.

Alex raced all the way back to their apartment. She didn't know where all this energy was coming from, maybe it was because she finally had a long night sleep. Whatever it was it didn't matter. She quickly climbed the stairs and went inside her place. She went straight to the fridge and took all the things she needed. Alex may not know a lot about cooking, but she hasn't lived above a sandwich shop without having learned a few things. As she made them she remembered when her dad taught her. Like their wizard lessons, she didn't listen half the time her dad talked, but some things just get through and she was thankful for that.

When she finished she looked at her work and smiled. She cleaned everything up and placed them in a brown paper bag. Alex grabbed the bag and took off.

She was disappointed when she arrived back in the antique shop. There was no one in sight when she went in.

"Justin? Ralph?" She called, but no one answered. She started to walk further in when she heard footsteps coming from the shelves.

"Alex?" Ralph's figure came into view.

"Ralph, where is Justin?"

"He left to the warehouse."

"What? It's already afternoon?" Alex looked at the clock on the wall. "I guess I'm going to have to go the warehouse then." She said, looking back at Ralph.

"Alex, are you okay? Because when I saw you running off-" Alex waved it off.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." She started walking to the door. "I'll see you later." Alex stopped half way out the door before looking back. "Oh, and sorry for rushing in an out of here, bye." Alex said and left.

The warehouse wasn't one of Alex's favorite places to go. It wasn't the warehouse itself, it was more the way there. She knew the kind of place these streets were. When Justin told her where his second job was she immediately was against him working there. She didn't like the idea of him walking late at night alone on these streets. He got home safe every night, but she still didn't like it. To her, someone like Justin didn't fit in a place like this.

She speeded up her walking a little, not liking the feeling this place gave her.

Alex found the door unlocked when she got there. She still couldn't get over of how big the warehouse was. She had only been here once and it wasn't for long. After gazing at the place for a bit, Alex saw the door to the small office was open.

Justin was reading a magazine with his feet on the desk. The magazine blocked his view of the door and Alex standing there.

"So this is what gets you so tired everyday." Alex's voice startled him, making almost fall back.

"You need to stop doing that." He said, bringing his feet down and putting the magazine down. "And this is just one of the few times that there isn't much I have to do and I actually have some energy to eat when I get home." Silence fell upon them as they stared at each other. Neither of them said a word. Justin was the one the made the first move. He stood up and walked over to her. Alex watched as he came over to her and embraced her.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that." Alex slowly brought up her arms and returned the embrace. "It's okay. You needed to." Justin held Alex a little tighter "No. I didn't." Alex pulled her head back to look at him and brought her free hand to his cheek to get his attention. "Justin, listen to me. Yes, you did. It was going to happen sooner or later."

Justin's eyes dropped, still regretting what he said, but then brought them back up. "I just…I just try so hard to make your life more easy. You've already suffered enough as it is and I don't-" Alex put her finger over his lips. "I'm not the only one that has suffered Justin. You have been so busy trying to make my life easier that you haven't been doing that for yourself."

"You're my little sister. It's my job to look after you."

Alex stepped back smiling and held out the bag she was carrying. "And since you've been such a nice big brother I'm going to do something that's going to make your life easier too. Starting with this." She said, giving him the bag.

Justin looked at her and then saw what was inside. "Sandwiches?"

"Not just any sandwiches." Alex's smile faded a little. Justin stopped looking at them to look at her when he felt Alex's mood change. "They were one of dad's favorites." Alex lost herself in her thoughts. That's why they looked familiar. Justin's stare kept going from Alex to the sandwiches in the bag. He looked at Alex one last time before walking out of the office. When Alex finally notice Justin wasn't in the room, she walked out the door, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you going to join me or what?" Alex looked to her left and found Justin sitting on the floor against the wall of the office eating one of the sandwiches.

"Of course, I'm hungry too." Alex sat down next to him. "I made one for me and two for you." She said, taking one from the bag. They ate without talking and just enjoyed the time they had.

When they were done they just sat there. "Thanks, Alex."

Alex looked at him. "From now on I'll make you something to eat at night so you can take it to work and eat." Justin looked at her and smile. "Even if I say you don't have to. I know you will anyway."

Alex smile. "You know me so well."

"They tasted really good, just like dad's." Justin said, but Alex shook her head. "Almost." She looked up at ceiling. "No one could make them like dad did." Justin saw her smile sadly. He brought his over her shoulder and Alex laid her head on him. He rubbed her arm as they rested with the silence the place offered.

The rest of the day, Alex decided to stay with him. Ricky wouldn't give her any trouble for not going to work since it was her first time not going with no excuse. Justin told her she should go home, but really since when does she listen to him. At the moment Alex was watching as Justin got ready to leave.

"I got to say I prefer your busy days." Justin closed the office door and looked at Alex questionably. "Sure you're tired as hell at the end, but at least you get to do something instead of just sitting and doing nothing." Justin turn back to the door and dug into his pocket, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

Justin was so occupied looking through his other pockets, he didn't notice Alex started walking backwards to the maze of boxes with her hands behind her. "You said you knew your way around this place very well right?" A small smile started to formed on her face.

"Yeah, it's my job. I'm suppose to know where everything is. Why?" Justin said as he kept looking through his pockets. Her smile grew as she walked faster backwards going deeper inside a passage between the boxes. "Then I wonder how long it will take you?"

"Take me?" He said not really paying attention. However, two things made him turn around. One, was her voice sounded like she was a little far away and second, was the tone of voice she used. The tone that usually meant nothing good for him. By the time he saw her, she was standing at the end of the road the boxes made with a big grin on her face. She brought up her hand and dangled his keys. "To get this."

Alex ran into another passage and out of his sight.

"Alex! Give me those back!" He ran after her.

"The sooner you get them, the sooner you can leave." Justin heard her say. Most of the boxes were piled on top of each other so he couldn't see over them. He made a right turn just in time to see Alex make another turn. This went on for a while, every time he turned he barely had any time to see Alex as she turned somewhere else. It got to a point where he couldn't see her anymore. As he turned to his left he heard footsteps at the other side of the boxes. How did she know where to go? Now that he lost sight of her, he hoped she would make a wrong turn and run into him, but it wasn't working. As if reading his mind she answered.

"Justin, you should really use your instincts, that's what I'm doing!" Alex shouted. Her voice sounded a bit more far away. "I'm hungry! I want to go home and eat!" He shouted.

"Then hurry up and catch me!"

Justin stopped and took some time to breath. It has been some time that he has had this much exercise. "I can't hear you running!" Her voice sounded even further away. He was never going to catch her like this. That girl had too much energy! After bit of resting he began to think. That's when an idea came. He walked on the passage he was on and looked closely at boxes. He stopped when he found the ones that he was looking for. Justin examined them and smiled, they were perfect to climb. He made sure they wouldn't break and started to climb until he reach the top. He was about ten feet above the ground. He smirked when he saw a flash of black hair. She was heading towards the middle of the warehouse. She was pretty far away, but he was soon going to catch her.

Alex kept running even though she couldn't hear Justin running anymore. Either he stopped or she was very deep inside. She did, however, stop when she started to hear thumping sounds and they were getting closer.

"Alex!" She heard Justin say.

Thump.

"I want…" Alex looked back and forward, trying to see where his voice was coming from.

Thump.

"…my keys…"

Thump.

"…back right…"

Thump.

"…NOW!" He was really close.

She stopped moving her head and looked up. His voice was coming from up there. Was he…?

Thump.

"Are you jumping on the boxes? That's cheating!" He was going to catch her like this. Alex ran to the end of the passage she was in. To her left there was another passage and on her right…

Alex had a mischievous smile grown on her face. This was going to be fun.

Justin was going way faster by jumping from box to box. He jumped one more time as he reached were he last heard Alex. It was a good thing too because this passage was to wide. He wouldn't make to the other boxes. "I'm sure I heard her from here." He climbed down to the floor, but couldn't see Alex anywhere. He walked to end of the passage and looked around. The left only had more boxes and the right…

Justin's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no. She wouldn't." He hurried down the passage to his right that led to center of the warehouse. It was too tempting and Alex wouldn't be able to resist. In center there weren't anymore passage ways, but a big space with a equally big pyramid of boxes. As he got near it, he saw Alex was almost half way up.

"Alex, get down from there!" Alex looked down and smiled when she saw him at the bottom. "No way! This is too much fun!" Justin growled and was off the ground again. He climbed as quickly as he could which was fast. Alex looked back down and was surprised with what she saw. "Wow, someone knows how to climb." He was climbing very fast. She should hurry.

Justin was catching up on Alex fast, but he was so focused on trying to get his keys back, he had forgotten one little thing he should've remembered back on the ground…

Alex had finally reached the top. She was about to pull her leg up when she felt someone grab her ankle.

"Caught you." Justin let go and climbed all the way up. Alex crawled to the middle of the box and dropped. Justin did the same. They were both breathing heavily. They rested for a few minutes. Alex grabbed the keys from her pocket and put them on his chest. Justin grabbed the keys and turned his head to look at her while still lying down.

He stared at her. Alex stared back. "Oh, come on, admit it. That was fun." She said, smiling. Justin tried not to smile, but it was useless. It really was. He turned his head back. "Now that you had your fun, can we go?"

"Not unless you want a round two." Justin quickly stood up. "No way."

"Didn't think so." She said as he helped her up. Alex whistled when she looked at the view from up there. "This place really is big." Justin also took the time to look. "Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't get lost." Alex looked at all the passage ways there were. "I guess I was lucky to end up here." She looked at the whole place and a thought came to her that made her chuckle. Justin looked at her. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking if you ever get chased by someone, you could bringing them here and lose them." Justin smiled and shook his head. "Come on, let's get down."

When they got near the edge Justin froze. "I forgot." His face paled as he looked down. "I'm afraid of heights."

It took them around forty minutes to get down because Justin kept saying he was going to fall and had to stop. It was pretty late when they came outside. Justin locked the door and they started to walk. Now that they were outside Justin remembered in what part of town they were in. As they walked, Justin didn't like how some of these guys were looking at Alex. He wanted to glare at them and tell them a few things, but he knew better. Just a wrong look could get you in trouble around here. Alex wasn't naïve to not notice the looks she was getting, but she didn't let it bother her. She felt Justin put his arm around her and brought her closer to him. Alex looked at him. "Afraid someone is going to take me away?"

Justin stayed silent because she already knew the answer. She was all he had left. There was no way he was going to lose her. He didn't know what he would do. If anything, it was mostly for his own sake.

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This turned out more longer than I thought it would, but I think you guys like long chapters...well I do anyway. Reviews please!


	7. Chapter 7

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**Finish Line**

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The whole week before Alex left, she spent it with Justin or hanging out with Cat and Jen. It was nice having Alex around, even when she annoyed him. At the end of the week Alex packed her things, like usual she waited until the last minute, and left with her friends to their camping trip. It felt a little weird having the whole apartment to himself. When he came from work it was quiet. It wasn't like the quiet when he came home and she was sleeping. It was different because he knew she wasn't there. Half the week passed and still felt strange not seeing Alex. Before she left she made him promise he would take the time to eat. That was what he was doing at the moment.

Ralph watched with amusement as Justin ate on the small couch. "I see you kept your promise." Justin looked up at him with his mouth full. The boy sure didn't waste any time eating at the rate he went. He gave Justin a few seconds for him to swallow. "She looked serious when she said it and she can be real scary when she wants to be."

"You talked from experience, huh?" Justin gave him a look. "Oh, you got that right." Ralph chuckled.

After cleaning up and saying goodbye to Ralph, he left out the door. The thing was that after today not eating was going to be the least of his worries.

That night sleep didn't come easy. Too many things passed through his head. He has always feared a lot of things. Some nights what ifs came to him that would plague his mind and wouldn't leave him alone. A what if and a fear came true today. Back when he lived with his parents this wouldn't have affected him so much, but now it was a different story. That one word kept repeating itself in his mind.

Earlier today his manager told him they were going to cut back and they were going to do some layoffs and the reason he was talking to him about it was because he was one of the ones that they were letting go. In short, he was fired. He never knew how much that word terrified him.

Justin covered his face with his hands. He couldn't get fired. He couldn't afford to! They barely made enough to pay the rent excluding the food and other things. What was he going to tell Alex when she came back? He couldn't tell her. She was the one that worried the most when it came to the rent and that was saying something since Alex doesn't worry about a lot of things. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't this had happened after Alex was older and moved out? Why…why did this have to happen to them?

The next day Ralph could tell something was wrong. Justin looked like he hadn't slept at all. The whole time he was there, he didn't talk. As Justin was getting ready to leave Ralph decided to see what was wrong.

"Is something in your mind? You seemed like something is bothering you." Justin looked at him. He has been quiet all day and he had hoped Ralph wouldn't have asked anything. He hated lying to him. Justin put up the best fake smile he could, but he was terrible at it. "No, I'm fine."

Ralph frowned. "Oh…okay, but if there is anything you want to talk about, I'm here." He said, sincerely. Justin nodded and headed to the door.

"Justin before you leave. Did you finish reading that book I lent you?" Justin turned around. He did borrow a book from him yesterday. Justin told him he was going to bring it back the next day since it wasn't that long of a read. He tried to remember where he left it. His mind has been so occupied lately he can't recall where he saw it last. He took it with him to the warehouse and then…Oh, right. He must have left it there. After getting fired he was too preoccupied to remember to bring the book with him. "I'll go get."

"Don't you have to work?" Justin was already gone before he even finished.

As the warehouse came into view he felt that churning feeling at the bottom of his stomach. He almost felt like throwing up. The door that he saw almost everyday had a small surprise for him. A surprise Justin didn't like one bit. The door no longer had a key hole, but something a little more complex.

Justin frowned as he looked at it. "They sure didn't waste anytime." He said with bitterness. The door handle had a card slot above it for a card key. They must've had this planned for weeks to have changed it over night. That just darkened his mood even more. A wave of anger went through him and he kicked the door. They could've at least told him ahead of time! He could have used the time to look for another job. For a guy in his position it wasn't easy finding one. Child services were already breathing down his neck for Alex. If they got wind of this, they would jump at the chance to take her again. What the hell was he going to do! Justin waited until he calmed down and started thinking how he was going to get Ralph's book out.

A pair of bored eyes had been watching Justin since he came. The eyes lit up with a bit of amusement as Justin kicked the door and then left.

The quietness of the apartment was welcoming. Justin walked down the little hall and opened the door opposite to the bathroom. It has been a while since he last went through the closet. It was mostly filled with boxes and a couple of coats. As he searched through the boxes he kept telling himself he was doing this because of Ralph. He didn't feel like standing outside the warehouse waiting for someone to come and let him in, that is if even someone showed up at all. When he found the box he was looking for, he didn't waste time opening it. He quickly went through it. The box was full of devices he created over the years and was able to bring with him from the loft. Justin side glanced the box next to the one he was looking through. Unlike the other boxes that one was completely closed. Neither Alex or him had opened it since the move.

Finding what he was looking for, he held it up and inspecting, hoping it still worked. It was some kind of card key, but it wasn't a normal one. One end of the card had wires attached to it and the other end of the wires went into a black handheld box with a rectangular screen.

As he walked back to the warehouse he remembered why he built it. He created mostly as a challenge from Zeke, to see if he could. He never intended to use it on anything and didn't think he would ever need it.

The same pair of brown-reddish eyes caught sight of Justin as he made his way to the warehouse.

Justin inserted his card key in the slot and numbers appeared on his screen. The numbers kept changing until there was a 'beep'. The small red light next to the slot turned green.

The guy with the brown-reddish eyes watched with a bored expression as Justin took out something from his pocket and started doing something to the door. His eyebrows rose a little as Justin unlocked the door and went inside. He has been at the other side of the street from the warehouse for a while just relaxing against the wall. It seemed Justin hadn't seen him.

After getting his book, Justin started to walk back on the sidewalk. He didn't pay any attention to the guy leaning on the wall with his arms crossed.

"That was a nice trick you did with the door." He said right as Justin passed him.

Justin stopped walking and looked at him. The guy that looked like he was in his mid-twenties and had short black hair wore a smirk.

"What?" Justin was scared out of his mind for being caught, but tried not to show it. He didn't think anyone would be there. No one is ever around there. The guy looked at the book he carried.

"A book? That's all you got? I would think there would be more interesting things inside there than just a book." The guy got off the wall and stood in front of him.

Justin tried not to look so nervous than he actually was. "I'm sorry I think you got me confused with some-"

"Oh, don't play dumb. I saw you earlier when you came and when you opened that door with that." The guy pointed to his pocket which caused Justin to become alarmed. Justin's hand immediately went to feel his pocket. His hands were getting very sweaty.

"P-please do-don't tell them about this. I used to work there and I got fired and I-I forgot my book inside and I just had to get it back. I can even show you th-this is mine." The guy held up hands to stop Justin from rambling.

"Hey, hey, relax. I'm not going to tell anyone." He saw as Justin sighed in relief, but still looked tense. "I can already tell you're one of those non-rule breaker guys."

"My name is Joseph." He raised his hand to him. Justin was still not completely relaxed, but shook his hand. "You're defiantly one of those guys." Joseph said, wiping his hand on his pants. Justin felt little embarrassed and wiped his hands too.

"If you're not going to turn me in then what do you want?" He looked at him suspiciously.

"What makes you think I want something?" He tried to sound offended.

"The people that hang around here aren't very…nice." Justin said, scowling.

"I'm a bad guy now? Just for standing here?" Justin stared him down and Joseph smirked "Maybe you aren't so gullible." His eyes wandered to Justin's pocket and pointed at it.

"Where did you get that?" Justin narrowed his eyes. "I don't think that's any of you're business." The guy smiled.

"Since you _know_ the type of guy I'm. Should you really talk to me like that." Justin didn't say anything. The guy sighed and dropped the whole cocky attitude. "Look, I'm not going to take it or anything. I just want to see it."

Justin stared him in the eyes for a minute before giving in. He didn't want to get in trouble with this guy just because he wanted to look at it. He watched as Joseph examined it carefully. When he was satisfied he gave it back. "Not the best quality I seen, but not bad. Where you get it?" Justin looked at him and then at his device that he was holding. "I made it."

That got a surprised look from the cool and collected Joseph, but then smiled. "Oh?" Justin watched as Joseph seemed to be thinking about something. After few moments his eyes went back to him. "You said you just got fired, right?" Justin furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah."

"I don't do this often, but we're looking for someone like you."

"We?" Instead of answering him, Joseph took out a piece of paper with a pen and started writing something down using the wall. When he was done he handed it to him. "Here." It was an address. "Come to this building tonight at midnight."

"What for?" Justin looked from the piece of paper to him. Joseph smiled. "If you're interested in a job, I can get you one and it pays well." Justin had a bad feeling about this. He knew whatever this job was, it wasn't anything he was looking for.

He started shaking his head. "I don't think-" Joseph interrupted him.

"Look, if you come, you come. If you don't, you don't." He turned around and walked away. "See ya." Justin watched him leave and then looked at the small paper on his hand.

After returning the book back to Ralph and avoiding his questions of why he wasn't going to work at the warehouse, he went home and thought about this 'job'. He kept telling himself to forget about it and find another job, but it just kept popping back into his head. The piece of paper he left on the table kept calling him and couldn't stop glancing at it every time he walked by it. It was close to midnight. He was lying down on the couch with his arm over his eyes. Maybe he was over thinking it and it probably wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. It wouldn't hurt to see what it was he wanted him to do…or it could. Justin let out an irritated growl and stood up. He grabbed his jacket and the piece of paper and left.

Desperation and curiosity won.

The building was five stories high. Justin stood in front of the entrance and looked up at the building. He told him to come to this building, but he forgot to mention where exactly in the building. His whole body jumped when a brick fell a few feet away from him. He looked up at the roof and saw Joseph. He could almost see him smiling. Justin glare at him, even though he probably couldn't see it, and walked inside.

Justin was so glad he brought his jacket. It was pretty cold up there. He spotted Joseph near the edge looking in the distance at the part of the city that was still full of people despite being so late. He turned around when he heard Justin right behind him.

"I'm so glad you came." When Justin didn't talk. He could already tell he really didn't want to be there. He should probably go straight to the point right away.

"I didn't think you would come at the last second and I probably should have. I wanted to talk to you before we left, but we have no time. We'll have to talk on the way, come on." Joseph and Justin headed back down and led him to his car. Joseph looked from the driver's seat to Justin. He looked hesitant of getting inside. "You already came all this way. Are you really going to turn back now?" Justin sighed and reluctantly got in on the passenger seat.

Joseph started the motor and sped off. Justin held on tight because of how fast he was driving. "Sorry about the driving, but I'm in a bit of a rush. You took longer than I thought you would." Justin kept silent still not liking being there.

"First of all, take a deep breath and don't judge on what you are about to see. I can already tell what's going to go through your mind and there will be no point of you being here if your not going to keep your opinions to yourself, alright?" Joseph's sight never left the road. They were both silent as he drove. Justin tried not to jump when he suddenly heard a cell phone ring. He looked over at Joseph as he answered his phone. He couldn't hear what the guy Joseph was talking to was saying.

"Yeah, I know. It's time." He hanged up.

Justin kept staring at him, but Joseph didn't look back at him.

"Watch." Was all he said.

At the end of the street an armored truck passed by. Nothing seemed to happen until three black motorcycles showed up going after the truck. When they reached the end Joseph turned where they saw the bikes go. The truck and bikes were a little far for them to see them. He accelerated until he caught up with the bikes. This way they had a good view of the truck. There were two persons in each bike. You couldn't see there faces because of the dark helmets. The bikes easily caught up the truck and broke apart. One bike stayed right behind the truck, another one went to the right side near the passenger door, and the third one went to the left side close to the driver's side.

The bike on the back started getting closer to the right back corner of the truck. The bike slowly went deeper inside the right side like it was heading for the bike near the passenger's side. The person on the back slowly stood up with his feet on the seat and crouched while still holding with one hand to the rider's shoulder. He extended his arm as the rider got the bike closer to the truck. The truck suddenly went to the right trying to ram them. The rider hit the breaks barely missing it and the person standing almost fell. At the same time the bike up ahead on the right accelerated dodging it too.

The rider on the back slowly made his way back along with the other bike and tried again. This time they were ready and when the truck tried to crush them again they evaded, but not before the person jumped and got a hold of the handle of the back door of the truck and feet on the foot step. The person climbed to the roof and made his way to the front. The person on the back of the bike on the right side tossed a shotgun to the guy on the roof.

The truck kept trying to smash the bikes, but they were quicker. The person on the roof shot the hood of the truck, but nothing happened. He shot again, but just a bit of smoke came out. The person shook his head. It was taking too long.

Joseph shook his head. "It's not working." He looked at Justin. "I guess it's time for plan B." Justin even though he was clearly scared out of his mind because he figured out what they were doing, looked at Joseph confused.

"You see, there is a finish line that we can't cross, after that it get's too dangerous. If the armored truck crosses the finish line it's over."

The guy on the roof tossed the shotgun back to the bike on the right. The person on the back of the bike on the left side took out another shotgun. They dodged getting hit one more time and shot the window and so did the other person on the other side. However, the guards had their own weapons. Both bikes back away as the guards started firing at them.

Justin, who was by now having a heart attack, looked at Joseph. "I don't know where this finish line is" Justin's panicking eyes went to the truck and then back at him. "but I have a feeling it's not far from here." Joseph smiled and just kept driving.

The bike on the right quickly got near the driver and shot the door. It didn't hit the guard, but scared him and that was all they needed. Before he could recover from his fright, the person on the back of the bike jumped and used the broken window to hold on. Before the guard could shoot, the person hit him on the face with the shotgun. The guard on the passenger side saw this and was about to shoot, but the same thing happened to him as he got distracted from looking at his side. They unlocked the doors and pulled them out of the truck onto the street. They quickly got in and took over.

Joseph slowed down and soon they lost sight of the bikes and truck. He glance at Justin and saw he was very pale. Joseph looked back at the road and went on a different direction.

For a while no one spoke. "I want to get out." Justin suddenly said. Joseph slowed down and parked. Justin was about to get out, but Joseph grabbed his arm.

"We're not just your ordinary thugs and robbers, Justin." Justin glared. "What I just saw says otherwise." Joseph's expression was completely serious. "The difference between us and them is that we're not just some idiots with guns. We actually think of the consequences." Justin scoffed and looked away. "We aren't just a typical gang from the streets, but we're also not high professionals. You may think we're just mindless, lawbreaking robbers, but we are smart. We don't make ourselves well known to have our own special team tracking us and we don't kill cops or anyone that has power in high places to come after us."

"Just because you think a little doesn't mean you're different." Justin said, angrily. He already started hating himself for even coming. "Why did you come then? You knew it was something you wouldn't like. So, why?"

Justin remained silent and stared at the empty street.

"Everyone needs money, there is nothing to be ashamed of. It's what makes the world go round. Don't tell me you're different." Justin swallowed and turned to look at him. "I can tell when a man is desperate. When I saw you at the warehouse I knew you were desperate." Justin didn't meet his gaze. He was right, he was desperate. It was the only reason he came in the first place.

"I don't know your reasons for needing money and I don't need to. The point is you need it." Silence once again came.

"If you still want the job and take it, come back to the roof on Sunday. I'll give you some time to think about it." Justin got out without another word and closed the door. He stood there for a moment thinking and then leaned down to see Joseph.

"Where was the finish line?" Justin asked, plain curious.

Joseph serious attitude changed as he smiled. "The finish line is wherever you want it to be." Justin looked confused. "_You_ make the finish line. _You_ decided when to stop." After saying that, he left.

Justin stared as he dove away with his words ringing in his head.

**-+-**

* * *

About the whole card key thing. The way I see it is if Justin can build a robot, he could build other complex things too. I seen that device before, but I can't remember what is called. It has been bothering me the whole time a wrote the chapter.

Reviews would be nice.


	8. Chapter 8

**-+-**

**Memories**

**-+-**

The gloomy sky stood above Manhattan and from her window Alex's face matched the sky. Her eyes that once held life were now completely empty. Her eyes once showed the world how uncaring and free she was and just lived her life how she wanted. Now her eyes showed nothing, but emptiness. Her eyes gazed down at the street and looked over at the place she grew up and came to call home. This place, however, no longer felt like it anymore. This place she once called home had never felt so empty. She sat in silence like the rest of the loft, no sound, no talking, no more do your homework, no more scoldings, no more time for dinner, no more lessons, no more get to school…

…no more nothing.

"Alex?"

Her eyes moved away from the window and saw Justin standing by her door. To anyone else on the outside he looked like nothing had happened, but in the inside she knew he was just like her. He was the oldest and had to be the responsible one no matter how much it hurt and she hated it. All that responsibility he took upon himself shouldn't be there. He was young and shouldn't have to. She always thought he was too mature for his own good.

"How was he?" She asked.

Justin walked in and sat on the edge of her bed. "There is still no change."

It has been a week since they hospitalized Max. After he was found the paramedics took him to the hospital and told them he was in a coma. It was great and bad news. It was great because he was alive and it was bad because the doctors weren't being very optimistic about his condition.

Alex saw the way Justin was looking at her. She knew that look and decided to leave before he started. She quickly made her way to the door, but he grabbed her wrist before she could pass him.

"Alex, there are some things I need to talk to you about." Justin tried to meet her gaze, but she kept staring forward at the door.

"I don't want to talk."

Silence fell on them.

"Please, let go." She sounded so fragile and weak, at the edge of breaking. She had already went through so much, he couldn't bare to cause her anymore turmoil, no matter how small.

He let her go.

Two weeks passed and nothing had changed. Alex hardly talked and she spent most of the time in her room. She didn't go to school and Justin didn't force her. He tried to go himself a couple a days, but he couldn't focus. There were too many thoughts running through his head. Things that were going to happen and some he tried to avoid thinking about. The one he avoided the most was the one that made his whole body go numb, but it was hard when he kept receiving does letters. They were from Social Services involving Alex and Max. They kept saying to contact them immediately, but he couldn't. It was the only thing his rational mind could not do.

The beep from the microwave brought Justin back from his thoughts. He carefully grabbed the hot soup and brought it to Alex's room. Even though she spent a large amount of time in her room, Alex never closed her door. It was like she wanted him to know she was there when he walked by, but he was starting to think it was more like she wanted to make sure _he_ was there.

He found her lying on her bed on her side with her back facing him. He knocked on the door to get her attention. A few seconds passed and thought maybe she was asleep, but she slowly turned her head to see him.

Justin smiled a little and showed her the soup. "I brought you some soup. I didn't see you eat anything yesterday or this morning so I made you something myself."

Alex turned her head back. "I'm not hungry."

Justin lost his smile and sat on the side of her bed. He looked down at the soup and then at Alex. "Come on Alex, you need to eat something." He raised his free hand and rubbed her arm. "Please, for me?" He begged. When she didn't respond he was about to give up, but she slowly rose up until she was sitting with her back against the headboard. He gave her the soup and watched her stare at it.

"Do you want me to feed you?" Justin smiled, trying to lighten up the mood, which he was failing miserably.

"No." She quietly said and started to eat.

He knew after losing their parents so recently he couldn't expect her to act the same as always, but he wished he could get some kind of reaction from her. Everyday was the same and it just added to his grief. It made him feel like he couldn't take care of her. His eyes could only see how dejected she looked. Maybe he really wasn't the best person to watch over her.

He watched her the entire time while he was lost in his thoughts. "When you're done, how about we go visit Max?" Alex stopped eating. Her spoon was half way up in the air ready to eat, but she slowly brought it back down.

Her lifeless eyes lighted up even if it was just a little.

"Do you think he will be awake?" The hope her voice held was enough to break his heart. He couldn't summon the will to tell her he was beginning to believe the doctors were right and Max wasn't going…

No, he couldn't think like that. Not when Alex was so fragile. He tried to feel encouraged and smiled. "He could be." Alex smiled a little and started eating again.

The hospital was a place they had become used to. They came once everyday to visit Max since he was brought in. Alex waited as Justin went to check in at the front desk. Once he was done they went into one of the halls and headed to Max's room. As they walked they passed a few opened doors. Alex kept her eyes from wandering into those rooms. The first time she came, it was depressing. Seeing all does people sick, injured, _dying_. She already had her own suffering to deal with, she couldn't bare to see other people's suffering.

The small hope in their eyes were dashed away when they saw Max's unmoving form. Alex walked over to the chair next to the bed and sat down. Justin didn't feel like sitting and stood next to the window. They both had their eyes on Max. He looked a little better than before. When they first saw him, he was bruised badly with a few burns. Those injuries weren't the doctors main concern, they will heal in time, but apparently he suffered a heavy blow to the head. The firemen that found him said the fire caused part of the ceiling to cave in and buried Max in the rubble.

They heard someone open the door. Alex didn't turn around, she already knew who it was. She kept staring at the boy on the bed, holding his hand. The doctor motioned for Justin to come out into the hall. Justin followed the doctor and softly closed the door. Alex continued to look at Max's slightly bruised face and ignored the rest of her surroundings. There were a few rare times when she didn't come with Justin to visit him. She couldn't handle seeing him like this. The boy that she grew up with that was always cheerful and was full of life couldn't be the boy lying there lifeless. The boy that was her little brother. Her hand tighten around his as she tried to hold back the tears.

"Mr. Russo, I don't know what else to tell you than what you already know. We have done everything we could." The conversation Justin and the doctor were having in the hall was something Justin couldn't handle right now.

"That's my little brother in there! There has to be something-" The doctor grasped his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"I can tell you are a smart man and you know it's not up to us if he wakes up or not." He said and gave him time to let everything sink in.

After a couple of minutes the doctor spoke. "Mr. Russo, I'm don't usually ask this, but how are you going to pay for your brother's life support? Your file doesn't show that you have health insurance." The doctor knew the situation Justin was in. He was the one that showed him his parents corpses to identify them. The poor boy barely made it to the bathroom to throw out anything he ate earlier. He stayed in there for almost two hours weeping.

Justin kept staring at the floor not all there, but answered automatically. "We just received the life insurance money." That was just another painful reminder that it was just him and his sister taking care of their little brother. The doctor nodded before walking away to his next patient. Justin stayed out in the hall, he couldn't let Alex see him right now. He laid his back against the wall and covered his eyes. He slid down to the ground and began to cry quietly.

Things didn't seem to get any better as the weeks went by. Alex was in her room when she noticed something. She came out of her room and went to the living room. Everything was quiet, more quiet than usual. She knew Justin was there, but she hasn't been able to hear him. With her open door she can usually hear him moving around or watching TV or something. When she arrived she found him sitting by the dining table. The expression he had took her by surprise, she hasn't seen that look of concentration on him for some time. That wasn't what made her walk over to him, but the papers that were spread on the table. They looked very important and she didn't seem to understand what they were, but in the back of her mind she knew what those papers meant.

"What are those?" She said. Her voice didn't get through to him, which made her frown slightly. Lately he has been distant with her, like something was distracting him. At first she thought he'd finally stopped acting like everything was fine, but then she started to feel more lonely than she was and missed his probing. That's what made her ask. Now she finds out he hasn't been checking on her because of some papers?

She repeated her question and Justin continued to ignore her. Alex had enough of his attitude and grabbed his hand that he was using to write. She didn't have the same patience as he did.

"What?" He snapped, looking up at her. She didn't let his outburst face her and looked at him straight on.

"What are those?" She repeated while looking at the papers with a slight glare.

Justin glared and went back to what he was doing. "Now you want to talk?" He said in a not so pleasant tone. Alex didn't speak and neither did he. After minutes passed she spoke. "What are they for?" Justin continued to ignore her and kept on reading. Alex scowled, but tried not to lose it. If he wasn't going to say anything than she was going to find out for herself. Her eyes scanned the first paper she saw and as the seconds passed her breathing stopped.

She lost it.

"You're selling the Sub Station?!" Alex yelled.

Justin remained silent which infuriated her even more and she swiped the papers off the table.

"What the hell?!" He slammed his hands on the table and stood up. Everyone had a breaking point and she just reached his. All those weeks of trying to be the calm older brother, trying to make things easier for her had reached his limit. He has tried to be the responsible one and tried to ignore all his feelings from their parents deaths, but not even he could bury them for long. Didn't she know how hard this was for him? How hard it was to signed this papers that were shredding his life bit by bit?

"What are you thinking selling the shop?! Selling DAD's store?!" She continued to scream.

"What do you expect Alex?! We, alone can't run the shop!" Alex looked at his eyes and she could tell he was just as furious as she was. "So? We can figure something out! We don't have to-"

"Alex, wake up! This isn't one of your screw ups that we can just think of something and fix it! And we need the money for Max's life support!"

"What are you talking about? We have the money from the life insurance!"

Justin didn't answer right away, but maintained a stern face. "That's not going to last forever." Alex shook her head. "It doesn't have to. Max will wake up befo-"

"Alex, we might have to face the fact that Max won't wake up." Alex felt like he just slapped her. "What are you saying? Are you actually going to believe them?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"They are the doctors with facts and the facts say that Max most likely won't wake up." She hated when he spoke like that. The cold words that science made him say.

"How can-" She choked in her own words. "How can you say that?" She gave him the deepest glare she has ever given him. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!"

"It's the truth! What d-" He couldn't finish. He stood still hearing the echo of her slap bouncing off the walls. He slowly turned his head back from the force of her slap. He didn't know if her hand was shaking from the anger or from the slap, but he couldn't think at the moment.

Alex had slapped him. She has never done that before. A few minutes passed before she retreated back to her room and heard her door slam. It took him over five minutes before he could move again and walked back to the table, back to destroying whatever life he had left.

Two months passed and things seemed like they stayed frozen since that day. Alex no longer left her door open and Justin went back to going to school. They haven't spoken to each other for the whole two months. Even if Alex didn't want to talk or look at him, he made sure she ate something. When he came into her room she would avoid looking at him. When he tried talking she would remain silent. Everyday was the same and for the second time in his life he truly didn't know what to do. He felt just as helpless as when he found out his parents were dead. This horrible feeling he wished he never felt again came back and this time there was no Alex to help him. Nothing changed until a knock on the door and it wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Justin looked at the woman standing on his front door, dressed in a business attire. Her semi-cold expression suited her clothing.

"Justin Russo?" Her voice made him feel uneasy. "Yes."

"May I come in?" It didn't feel like he had much of a choice in the matter and let her in. She didn't take a seat, but immediately began walking around the living room scanning everything. Her gaze stopped at a picture of his family. Dread began to grow in his stomach as a conclusion formed in his head about who she was.

"May I ask who you are?" Justin asked trying to be polite.

The woman turned from the picture and looked at him. "I'm Nancy Losner. I'm here about Alexandria and Max." A cold chill went through his body. He started putting the pieces together and anxiety crept into his chest.

Justin kept his breathing steady, trying not to panic. "What about them?" The woman scrutinized him with her gaze. The woman's stern look made Justin crumble in the inside as the seconds passed.

"I think you know why I am here." Those words broke the thin wall that held his emotions. He couldn't pretend anymore. He couldn't pretend those letters didn't exist, not anymore. The harsh reality caught up to him.

"Please, don't-they are all I have left."

"I'm not here about you, but them." Her unsympathetic voice cut him deep.

"After failing to answer our letters we had no choice, but to come here. I'm here to tell you what Alexandria's best interests are, along with Max's."

"Their best interests are with me." He weakly protested.

"Really? An eighteen year old who hasn't even graduated high school."

"I will graduate early with my grades and I'll find a job after selling the restaurant." Justin words came out full of desperation.

The woman glared.

"Do you think that's going to take care of Max and what he needs in the hospital? You think it's going to be enough to take care of a fifteen year old girl? Have you thought where you're going to live when you move out or if it has a school near for Alexandria? Have you truly thought this through?" Her words spoke logic something he cherished all his life and something he could no longer deny, but her next words cut the deepest into his heart. "Do you think you're the right person for her?"

Each word she spoke crushed him piece by piece until they finally broke him. Justin's face dropped to the floor. A few minutes passed with the room in silence. The woman walked towards the door.

"I'll be back for Alexandria tomorrow, make sure her things are ready." After saying that she left.

Alex was lying on her bed when she heard the commotion coming from the living room. Things have been quiet for a while now, it was strange hearing noises. She got off the bed and slowly made her way to the two voices.

_Who is Justin talking to? _She thought as she walked down the hall. She knew it wasn't Harper, not after what happened three weeks ago.

Harper had been coming and going trying to talk to Alex and help her get through this, but Alex didn't listen. Harper couldn't understand she didn't want to talk. All she wanted was for her to leave her alone. It got to a point where Alex couldn't take it anymore. She flat out yelled at her to leave her alone and stop bothering her. She said plenty of horrible things to her that day and Harper ran out of the house. She never came back after that. It was just another thing to add to this hell.

As she got near she heard the person speak. "I'll be back for Alexandria tomorrow, make sure her things are ready." Then she heard the door close.

Alex froze as she heard those words. What was she talking about? Who was coming for her?

"Who was that?" Alex's voice made him rigid, but immediately went back to his broken state. She saw how tense he was and something told her it wasn't because of what happened two months ago.

This was the first time since then that she has looked at him. When she had slapped him she was so full of anger she couldn't control herself. Once she calmed down she started regretting what she did. As the days passed she felt hate growing inside her, but it was hate for herself. Justin has done so much already, he took care of everything. He took care of identifying their parents bodies and their funeral, he took care of the house for as long as he could, he took care of Max, and he took care of her. He has done more than he was asked of and what has she done? She has been closing herself in her room and being selfish. She has done plenty of selfish things in her life, but this was a whole new level, even for her. With all this she couldn't bring herself to look at him every time he came into her room. She felt disgusted with herself.

Now as she saw how broken he looked, she couldn't help, but do whatever it took to help him. Along side that, fear filled her. She has never seen him so broken before and the thought of her big brother looking so defeated and hopeless scared her. Why wasn't he looking at her?

"That…was…" His words faded, not being able to get them out. His face stayed looking at the ground. His silence was unnerving, but his next words were worse.

"You'll be happy now. You've been miserable for so long, but you'll be happy now." He said softly. Alex was really becoming scared. What was he talking about?

"Justin, what are you talking about?"

"They…they will take good care of you." Alex was terrified now and started trembling a little. She grabbed his arms and started shaking him.

"You're not making any sense! Who are they?" A thought started making itself know in her mind, but ignored it.

Justin raised his head and Alex gasped. Tears were streaming down his face and he had a horrible, sad smile. "The family that will take you and make you happy." Her face completely became pale white and her eyes went wide.

"No." She quietly said. She took a few steps back while slowly shaking her head in denial. "No, no, no!"

"They'll make you happy and you'll have a better life. You'll have a new home with a new family that will take care of you better that I can. You-"

"Stop it!" She said holding her head. They were going to take her from Justin and Max. The two people she grew up with. The only ones she had left. Tears started escaping her own eyes. Alex ran to Justin and held him tightly.

"I'm sorry for what I did, please don't-I…I belong with you." She continued to cry on his chest, even when he didn't returned her embrace. He didn't feel like he deserved to hold her.

"I belong with you, I belong with you, I belong with you, I belong with you…" She kept on whispering those words over and over until she cried herself to sleep.

Hours later into the night, Justin stayed awake sitting on the couch with Alex holding him just as tight as when she was awake. He stared into nothing in the dark with a strange sense of déjà vu. It was just like the night when their world was destroyed. All the time Alex spend crying he just sat there not thinking about anything. He had already made his decision hours ago. He carefully untangled himself from her and stood up. He watched her sleep with an unreadable expression. Her delicate face was streaked with dry tears. After a few minutes he went into her room and started to pack her things. He was doing this with one thought in his head.

It was the best thing for her.

A month and half passed since his new hell began. Every night he kept seeing Alex's face when they took her. The pleading, desperate, and hurt expression she had as they took her away. He didn't know where she was or with who, but he knew she'll be happy again, someday. He didn't know if he could visit her wherever she was, but it would be better if she didn't see him. She won't be able to move on if she did because he will always be a reminder of what happened. So the days of this thing that could hardly be call life started. This thing, he thought, didn't have a name. The loft was in pure dead silence. Do you know what it's like to walk in a place you grew up in with no noise or sound whatsoever, but your own? The familiar rooms you walk into full of memories are now hunted. Dreary silence everywhere you went.

Justin graduated from high school early. This especial time were he was supposed to celebrate with his family was spent alone in silence. He sold the restaurant to some person or company. He could care less who it was. Maybe he would've cared who his family's business was going to when Alex was here, but now he just didn't care. Then came the news that completely and utterly destroyed him. That's when he knew he was truly alone. All alone with nothing, but darkness.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

He heard someone pounding on the door through the heavy rain. When he opened the door the feeling he felt was indescribable. In the pouring rain Alex stood with her clothes soaked and hair wet. He couldn't speak or breath and she didn't let him. For the second time in his life Alex slapped him.

"You let them take me. You just stood there." He was sure she was crying, not all that water on her face was from the rain.

"Why?…Why?" She repeated.

"It was what was best for you."

Alex glared at him and grabbed him by his shirt with both hands. "No one…no one knows what's best for, but me!" After saying that she threw herself at him and held him tightly. This time he held her back. They held each other with the sound of the rain behind them.

For the last month and a half they had been keeping a close eye on Alex because of how hysterical she was, but once she clamed down she bided her time. The first chance she had she ran away and came back to him. She didn't think of the consequences. Not for a second because she was Alex. They were most likely going to look for her, but she didn't care.

"I'm sorry." He said. She held him tighter. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Justin began to cry. Something was wrong. Alex looked at him with questioning eyes. "I'm sorry I-I…couldn't…Max, they…I…" He couldn't speak as he began sobbing. "I couldn't do anything."

Alex's eyes grew wide. "No." She looked at him as he continued to cry even harder. "Oh god please no." Fresh tears came out as she fell to her knees. Justin followed her to hold her as she cried even more. Max, her little brother, the little boy she saw grow up since he was a baby.

He was…he was…he was…

Alex screamed at the top of her lungs as Justin held her tighter. She continued to wail so loud from the pain. It was too much. The rain silenced their cries from the outside. Why? Why did this have to happen to them? They never did anything wrong. So why?

It wasn't fair.

After there was nothing left to cry, they kept on holding each other, not wanting to let go. There was nothing left, but them.

"Let's leave." She said almost in a whisper. Her head was resting on his chest, not looking at anything.

"Where?"

"I don't care. There is nothing left for us here. Let's just leave."

A minute of silence passed.

"Okay."

"It's just us now. We'll take care of each other…just like always." Those were her last words she spoke that night.

The next day they were gone.

**-+-**

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This year of school has taken no mercy with me. Day after day homework here homework there. Damn it's frutrasting! Putting that aside, here is the next chapter. As you can notice this chapter has the same tittle as one my earlier chapters. That's because I first intended to have three chapters of Memories seperated throughout the story, but I decided to combine the last two into one. Please review so I know you guys are still interested in this story. I would really like that!


	9. Chapter 9

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**One Of Them**

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Everyone knows what knowing from right and wrong means. Parents instill this in their kids as soon as they learn how to talk. It's one of the most important lessons parents teach their kids. Not just parents, but teachers too or any adult that knows them for that matter. Ever since his first memory he remembers his parents telling him what he could and couldn't do. There were things that a person just shouldn't do. His parents told him to never lie, steal, or fight. Anything that meant getting into trouble with them and most importantly with the law. He remembered his parents saying the only ones that break the law were the people that have lost their way and have no morals. They always told him these people were bad and he should stay far away from them. All his life he believed his parents and the values they taught him. He has always been a good person, following the rules and the law. As a child he told himself he would never be ones of those people. Those people were evil, selfish, liked hurting others, and thought only of themselves.

Justin was lying down on his couch reminiscing in his mind about all the things his parents told him as a child about those people that broke the law and what they were. Now he was older and had a more clear mind on why people did the things they did. His parents were mostly right, but this week he found out another reason that made people like that.

It wasn't about being evil. It wasn't about hurting others. It wasn't about morals. It wasn't about being selfish.

It was…

Justin looked at the time. It was 3:08am. Tomorrow was Sunday, well technically it already was Sunday. He couldn't remember at what time Alex was suppose to arrive, but who could blame him? His mind has been very occupied lately. He hoped Alex had a good time with her friends, she deserved it. She has been getting good grades, which surprised him greatly the first time he saw them. He nearly went into shock and forgot to breath the first time he saw her grades. Every time he received her grades, it still shocked him, but not as bad as the first time. She has been doing a lot better in school and he was thrilled, but…It's just not how he had wanted. He knew Alex was smart. The way she schemed and tricked anyone she wanted was something you couldn't do without being smart. If she was interested in something she would give everything she had. She proved it by the grades she was getting now, but he didn't like the reason that brought this change. Sometimes it didn't feel like it was Alex because Alex was a schemer, a trickster, a deceiver, a conniving girl that he wouldn't trade for the world. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he missed that girl.

She wasn't the only one that was changing though.

The drive back to the city was mostly resting from their trip. Alex lazily stared out the window as the terrain passed by. The whole week was so much fun. She couldn't remember the last time she was so carefree. Her mind occasionally drifted to Justin, thinking and wondering if he was eating like he'd promised and how he was doing with his jobs. After all, they depended on them to keep those social services assholes away. She knew that their jobs were barely making enough for them and to satisfy social services. She remembered the day they took her and the day they left their loft. She also recalled how Prof. Crumbs helped them out. She didn't know where they would be if he hadn't helped them. It was Justin's idea to call Prof. Crumbs. They didn't know how, but somehow he managed to get social services off their backs. They kept a close eye on them, but left them alone. He also helped them find a place to live, which they were very grateful for. They owed him a lot and she promised herself she will someday pay him back. She was sure Justin felt the same way. Thinking of Justin. He better be eating like he promised and resting since it's Sunday.

"What are you thinking about?" Cat asked. She was sitting next to her. Alex turned her face from the window to Cat. Alex's expression asked Cat why the sudden question.

"I just saw how you were deep in thought." She said. Jen, who was sitting at the other side of Cat, looked at them.

"I was just thinking of someone." Alex said.

Cat smiled. "Was it a guy?" Jen's eyes perked up at this.

Alex nodded and looked back at the window. "Yeah." Cat's smiled grew. Before she could ask more Alex continued. "I was wondering how he was doing." If Alex would've looked at them she would have noticed the kind of thoughts that just went into their heads.

"Why are you wondering how he's doing?" Alex frowned a little, but they couldn't see it.

"Oh, I just found out recently he has been doing something incredibly stupid."

"What has he been doing?" Cat hoped this guy Alex was talking about wasn't doing drugs or something like that. She would have to have a serious talk with Alex if that was the case.

"He hasn't been eating right because of his jobs, that idiot. I had to make sure he ate before we went to bed every night." Cat and Jen's eyes widened and Cat's mom squirmed a little in the passenger seat. Even her dad raised his eyebrows from the rear view mirror. Apparently everyone thought she talking about a guy she liked...and other things.

Alex notice how Cat became quiet and everything was silent. Alex turned around and was startled when she saw everyone giving her a weird look.

"What?"

They had always wondered who and if she lived with someone, since they knew something happened to her parents, but this was something they weren't expecting. Maybe this was why she never took them to where she lived.

Cat found her voice. "Ah, nothing I just didn't know you lived with your boyfriend." Now it was Alex's eyes to go wide.

Wow, backup, boyfriend?

She closely looked at how they were looking at her and then mentally smacked herself. She should really mention Justin is her brother before talking about him like that.

"No, no, no." She quickly denied what they were thinking. "Justin is my brother. We live together." Realization dawn on all of them.

"Don't you live with your parents?" Cat's dad asked. Cat glared at him and her mom smacked his arm. He looked at his wife, not knowing what he did wrong.

Alex rarely saw Cat's dad and she couldn't blame him for asking. He didn't know anything, none of them did.

"N-no. Is just me and my brother." She said sadly, looking at her lap. Cat's dad finally caught on and stopped talking. After a few seconds of silence, he was about to apologize, but Alex beat him.

"Our…our parents died about year ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said. Alex continued. "They…died an accident and…and a little later our little brother died from the injuries. There was nothing we could do."

"That's horrible." Cat's mom said. Cat and Jen quietly listened to Alex. They been wanting to know for a while about her. Now they knew why Alex got upset every time they brought up her parents. The just didn't know it was something this bad.

"After that we moved here from Manhattan. We just…couldn't live there anymore."

Cat and Jen looked sadly at Alex as she looked back a the window. The rest of the way was spent in silence.

They now at least knew a little more about Alex.

The morning went by and Justin was finally able to fall asleep around noon. Trying to put your worries aside for a moment to sleep was harder then he thought, but lack of sleep caught up to him. It was about 4: 23pm when he was rudely awakened.

Justin was soundly asleep when suddenly a weight came down on his stomach. He abruptly sat up and looked around dazed. When he was able to focused he found Alex's backpack on him and Alex standing with her arms crossed in front of the couch.

"Er, hi?" She scowled.

"I been gone for a whole week and all I get is 'hi'." Alex said. Justin smiled sheepishly and puts down her bag on the floor.

"To tell the truth I've been enjoying this whole week very much. Too bad it has come down to a crashing end." He said, smirking a little. Alex huffs and turns around to leave, but before she can walk a step, Justin grabs her and pulls her down to his lap.

"I missed you." He said, hugging her.

"That's more like it." She said making him smile. They stayed like that for a minute before standing back up.

"Did you have fun?"

Alex smiled. "Yeah. It was so much fun, especially without you there to kill the mood." Justin rolled his eyes and went to the fridge to get them something to eat. Alex went over to the table and sat down.

"What did you guys do?" He asked as he started making dinner.

"We went to the lake, went on a hike, ate marshmallows at the campfire-"

"Did you also tell ghost stories and sing kumbaya songs?"

"Oh, shut up." Justin laughed. "Do you want me to tell you or not?" She said, glaring.

"Okay, okay, go on."

Alex continued to tell Justin about her week as they ate. When she was done he told her about his week. She asked if he has been eating like he had promised and he told her he had, but she didn't seem to completely believe him. He would've been insulted and a little hurt if he didn't know she was just worried. Everything was going fine until she brought a certain subject.

"How has work been?" She casually asked.

Justin froze for a second, but answered. "Fine. Just the usual." He has never been a good liar like her, but he's glad he has gotten better at it. He can't let her know he was fired. Alex doesn't worry about anything unless it's something really serious and he doesn't like seeing her when she does.

Alex stared at him. Was it her imagination or did he hesitate for a moment? No that couldn't be because that would mean he was lying and she knew how bad of a liar he was. Then the thought of how he has been hiding not eating from her came. She shook her head. Justin wouldn't lie to her, not just because he was bad at it, but because they always came to each other when they had problems. Especially now that they only had each other.

He wouldn't lie to her.

Soon after they finished eating and talking, Alex went to sit on the couch and Justin cleaned the dishes. When he was done he found Alex sleeping.

_She must really be tired from her trip._ Justin thought.

He quickly dried his hands went over to pick her up. He carried her to her bed and softly laid her down. He carefully got the covers from under her and covered her. Alex sighed contently as she turned to her side. Justin got down to his knees and watch her with a small smile as she slept. He gently began stroking her hair, but his smile slowly faded when different thoughts came to him. Thoughts he wished he didn't have to think about.

Justin quietly got up and left the room.

Why do some people do the things they do? What causes them to do these things that others think are immoral? A society without rules would be chaos. Rules are made to keep us safe. He has always believed that and the people who break them just want a selfish gain.

There are reasons why one would become like that. He thought he knew what these reasons were, but it seems there was more to it than just the reason. What he didn't think about were the emotions behind them. The emotions were the ones that made the reasons. Another mistake he made was thinking he knew them all, but he was wrong.

It wasn't about being evil.

Justin locked the door behind him and walked down the stairs into the street. The streets were illuminated by the orange glow of the sunset. He walked around and took notice of this place that brought some many changes and would keep bringing.

It wasn't about hurting others.

He let his feet choose the destination as he kept thinking. Before he knew it he was looking at Ralph's antique shop. He thought how fortunate he was to have been hired by him. He could've easily ended up pushing shopping carts on some parking lot for a supermarket. He really was grateful to him.

It wasn't about morals.

His next stop was Ricky's sandwich shop. Like Ralph's place he didn't go in. He stood outside thinking at all the changes that he and Alex had gone through. He could've gone inside and said hi, but he couldn't talk right now. They didn't need to see him.

It wasn't about being selfish.

As he looked at the warehouse from across the street he tried to think of why the things that happened to him happen. He always came to the same conclusion. His life was never simple or normal. Why would that change now? It was the same reason why he didn't go inside to talk to Ralph and Ricky. That would have been normal, telling them about his day and how Alex enjoyed her week on her trip. Normal was never something that could describe his life.

Justin arrived at his final destination. From the street he looked up at the roof. He could see smoke ascending to the sky from there. After a few moments he headed inside. As he walked through the building he knew why he was there. He reached the top floor and opened the door.

He had to admit, it was a nice, peaceful view up there. A normal looking group of people talking with a grill in the middle and the sunset in the background. The creaking of the door drew the attention of all the individuals there. Some looked at him cautiously while others looked at him with calm. The only one he knew there smiled.

As Joseph came to him, Justin thought of the reason that brought him here. It was simple…

It was to protect..

Joseph put his arm around his shoulders to greet him and smiled as he led him to the group.

…Her.

"It's nice that you could join us."

What did it matter the reasons these people had for doing what they did. They had their reasons and he had his. The line between right and wrong can become very blurry sometimes, but that no longer mattered because he had his reason.

Maybe he wasn't just doing this to protect, but was being selfish wanting to keep her, but, again, what did it matter? He was going to be one of them anyway.

**-+-**

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I'm so glad many of you like this story! That just makes me want to keep going. Also it's always nice to know what you guys think. Next chapter is going to have some action, just letting you guys know.


	10. Chapter 10

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**To Get By**

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Relic, reminder, memento, these are the words that would best describe what Alex and Justin felt about their family secret. They don't hang pictures or photos from their old lives on walls or tables. Things like these would only make them remember, and remembering only brought pain. They felt enough pain as it was, they didn't need constantly be reminded of what they lost. Magic easily fell on this. Magic felt like life when they used it and it brought an indescribable feeling. The moment their family was gone they no longer felt life in them. The moment their family disappeared from their lives, they didn't care about anything, school, money, people, and especially magic. It was so far from them they couldn't even see it. They didn't know what happened to it and didn't care. After all this time they didn't try using it or even cared if they still could anymore. Why would they? Magic was just a part of their past that only brought pain and ache to their hearts.

Has Justin mentioned how glad he is about becoming a better liar? Lying was hard for him. It wasn't a natural gift like it was with Alex. In fact, it was unnatural for him, which it's why it was so hard. Three months have passed, three months of lying that _wasn't _eating him up inside, another unnatural thing for him. He felt remorse from time to time when he looked at her, but the feeling of knowing he was doing this for her made it easier if just a little. Besides the lying, he didn't know how, but he somehow managed to pay the rent for those last three months with the little savings he had. Justin doubted he could pay the coming rent because he was dried out, but fortunately and unfortunately _that_ day was coming, which Joseph liked to call pay day. All the planning they did for the last three months was for that day. Justin's nervous system was like a ticking time bomb as the day got closer and he was waiting for a nervous breakdown.

"Justin?"

Justin jumped at the sound of Alex's voice calling him. Justin turned around to see Alex looking at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

"What's up with you lately? You've been acting strange these last few days." Before he could think up of an answer he remembered what he had been doing. As subtlety as could he blocked what was behind him, but being who she was saw the movement.

"What do you have there?" She asked and walked closer to him. Before she got a good look Justin turned around and finished putting the object inside his backpack that was on the table.

"Why aren't you at work?" Justin asked her before she started asking questions.

"I could ask you the same thing." Alex tried looking inside the bag, but he zipped it shut. She slightly glared, annoyed he wouldn't let her see what was inside. "Aren't you supposed to be at the warehouse?"

Justin's eyes panicked for a second, but then it disappeared. "Yeah, but I forgot the lunch you made me last night." He raised his backpack making her think it was inside. Alex eyes soften and he inwardly cringed. This was the part he hated. These moments when he saw all the trust she had for him, how much she believed he would tell her the truth. He didn't like to think what would happen if she ever found out the real truth. He couldn't imagine the pain he would see in her eyes.

"So, why aren't you at work?" He asked again. Alex glared again.

He knew all the different types of glares she had and this one was the one she used when she was hiding something. Usually it was when she was plotting something or hiding something embarrassing. She hadn't done the former in a while so he was going to go with the latter.

"What? You forget your apron again?" He guessed, rolling his eyes, not really thinking he was right.

Alex only glared more. "That's not any of your business!" She stormed off towards her room.

That was a yes.

He knew she'd probably stay there until he left before leaving to save face so he decided to go. Alex really would stay even if she was late for work. She was very stubborn that way.

Besides the usual hang out at sun point, the roof where he first met Joseph's gang, which he doesn't like being refer to, they also had a place that was a little less reveling inside an abandoned building. Ironically, it was located near the warehouse he used to work at. It seems he just couldn't avoid that part of town. The windows and doors were all boarded up making the building itself a pain to get inside. Like a normal person, when they first brought him there, he thought they were going to show him a loose board he could move to get in, but as he learned, there was nothing simple when it came to these people.

Justin walked around the building, away from the street. At the back of the building the grass was long, almost reaching his knees. Justin looked around the grass until he found a ladder. He carefully raised it and placed it at the side of the balcony on the building. Justin secured his backpack and started climbing. They had to keep the illusion the building was abandoned for obvious reasons and they didn't want anyone finding a way in. They used the latter as their own way in, but anyone could just walk around and find it that's why they had to come up with a few tricks for this. The ladder wasn't exactly stable to say the least. There were certain rungs in the ladder that you just shouldn't grab or step on if you didn't want to get hurt. Justin made sure he remembered the right rungs to that unsafe booby trap. It didn't help that the most unsafe parts were up at the end where it could break the ladder easily. What was worse, the balcony was on the third floor and a fall from that height could really hurt if not break something.

Once he got over the cement railing of the balcony, he grabbed the thin rope that was tied to the last rung and slowly brought the latter down to the ground where he first found it. When he was done he threw the rope and walked through the old wooden double doors into the building. Directly from the doors there was a wooden spiral stairs. The place seemed to have a lot of space because there were only a few things around. Another reason for the space was because there were no walls or doors in the inside. It was an emptied out, hollow building. The only things in there were a couple of couches, a few single sofa chairs and other things like that.

A girl was comfortably on one of the couches reading a magazine with her feet up and using the arm as a backrest. She heard footsteps coming from the stairs and her eyes looked up above her magazine to see Justin.

"Sprints is here." She announced and went back to her magazine, hiding a small smile.

She spoke loud enough for everyone in the building to hear.

Justin rolled his eyes as he came down the stairs. He hated when any of them called him that. It was something they picked up when he did his…initiation a few months back. What a day that was. At least they didn't call him that all the time. The only time they call him that was when they teased him or were bored.

"Must you call me that?" Justin put down his backpack on a nearby table that had blueprints on it. She shrugged her shoulders, not taking her eyes from her magazine.

The girl, like the other guys, wore casual clothing. It was weird for him because she looked just like any other girl. She wore black and purple sneakers, jeans, shirt, etc. She and the others guys looked so normal it freaked him out. It just, with what they did and how they looked was so different. He always pictured people like them to have tattoos, piercing in random places, and a unique style of clothing, but no, they just looked so…_normal_. It really made him feel off.

Justin looked around and saw almost everyone was there, but not the person he wanted to talk to.

"Lacey, where's Joseph?" Justin asked.

"I think he and Ray are doing a last recon of the place for tomorrow night." She said, flipping a page. Justin stared at her for a brief moment and then turned to the blueprints.

"Justin! What brings you to this part of town?" A guy suddenly popped in and stood behind the couch with his hands on top of the backrest. By the looks of his build, you knew he worked out. He was a little big, but not too much.

Justin continued to study the blueprints, ignoring the guy. His mind was somewhere else. If he looked at a mirror he would see the same expression he used to get when he studied for a big test or project. So serious, which Alex teased him so much and he never got anything less than an A. Now though…now he was using his mind for something completely different.

The guy leaned down to Lacey. "Is it something I said?"

"No, Zack." She dully said. "Isn't it obvious? He's still not quite used to us yet." Lacey explained, not taking her eyes from the page.

Zack abruptly stood up. "Still?! It's been like three months!"

"Give him some time. He'll come around eventually." She calmly said.

Zack's shoulders sagged in defeat. He walked around to another couch also near the table and dropped.

They didn't need to wait long for Joseph and Ray to show up. When the three other occupants of the building saw them, they dropped what they were doing and walked towards Justin and the others.

Lacey put down her magazine and sat straight. "Anything new?"

Joseph joined Justin, looking at the blueprints. "No, so there shouldn't be any surprises." He turned around and saw everyone was gathered around.

"Everyone knows their job right?" Everyone nodded, except for Justin, who was still staring at the blueprints.

Joseph looked to his side at him. "Are you completely sure you're going to be able to hack into their system?"

Justin finally broke from his concentration and turned around to face them. "It's not hacking the system I'm worrying about, but more of the system itself. I don't know what kind of system they have. It's not that big of a problem, it's just a little unsettling not knowing."

If you asked Justin a year ago if he would ever hack into a computer for illegal reasons, he would thoroughly explain how he would never break the law and do such an irresponsible thing. It's amazing what happens in time.

Joseph stared at him with a dead serious look and then suddenly changed in to a relaxed smile. "Well, if all fails, we'll all just do what you do best." Justin rolled his eyes and everyone smiled/smirked. That was another thing he couldn't get used to. They could all be completely serious about a situation one minute and all of a sudden change into an easy going attitude. It disturbed him how it brought Alex to mind.

"Yeah Justin, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about." The other girl of the group said, smiling.

"You speak as if you weren't good at it yourself, Kate." The guy next to her said.

"Hey, hey! When I run it's because it's fun, not because I'm scared out of my mind." Kate responded.

"I wasn't scared out of my mind." Justin murmured to himself, but not low enough. Joseph gave him a look and Justin looked away.

"It didn't look like it when me and Zack pulled that prank on you on Halloween." The guy said. Zack started laughing and high fived him.

"For your information Gabriel, I was just surprised." She fought back.

"You didn't come back until they called you back." Another guy said. Kate tried to come up with a come back, but couldn't come up with anything and out frustration she jumped on his back.

"Kate!" The guy almost fell over.

"Chase, I can't believe you're taking their side!" She said, shaking him.

"I was just stating a fact." With a gruff voice because of how tight she was holding him.

"It sounded to me like you were taking there side." Joseph said, smiling. Ray and Lacey nodded.

"See!" Kate exclaimed. Chase shot them a glare.

Lacey watched as Chase tried to get Kate to get off some more and then her usual relaxed smiled appeared. "That looks fun." Her gaze went to where Justin, Joseph, and Ray were standing.

Justin and Ray heard her and immediately moved. Joseph wasn't so lucky.

"Lacey, what are you doing?!" Joseph almost fell from the sudden weight.

"Just having a little fun." She said.

"Just havin-I'm not a fun ride!" Joseph was now imitating Chase as he tried to get Lacey off his back. As this went on Zack and Gabriel started betting who could get the girl on their back off first.

Joseph and Chase gave them dirty looks.

Justin and Ray watched everything from the side. Ray looked at Justin. He had a small smile as he watched them. "Not used to us yet?" Justin's smile faded.

A few months back, when they asked them that, he didn't think about it much because he thought there was no way he would ever feel comfortable with them. It bothered him now because he _was_ getting used to them. Besides looking normal, they joked around like friends and hung out, if that is what you can call this. That's when Justin started understanding why Joseph didn't refer to them as a gang. In times like this, they looked more like a group of friends than thieves. The more time he spent with them, the more he _liked_ them…and that scared him.

Tomorrow came to quick for Justin. That morning was one of those rare times in his life when he really didn't want to get out of bed. Alex had to wake him up as she got ready for school. He didn't get much of what she said because he was still a bit drowsy, but what he did get was something about 'broken alarm' and 'I'm going to miss that stupid test'. That shows how out of it he was that morning. In a normal state, one of two things would've happened. One, he would have thought he was still dreaming or two, he was awake and would have gone into shock.

Before he knew it half the day had already passed. As usual he walked Alex from school. On the way, Alex notice Justin was being very quiet. Something about this made her feel kind of uneasy.

"What's wrong with you?" She blurted out.

Justin snapped out of his trance and looked at her. "Nothing."

"Then why are you so quiet."

"Can't I enjoy the quiet?" Alex opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what.

They continued to walk in silence. It's not like they haven't walked without saying anything before, but something about this didn't feel right and it was creeping her out. When they arrived at the corner where they usually split up, Alex still didn't know what was up with him. They stood there for a minute.

"Well, you better get going before you're late." Alex said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, you too."

Alex turned to face him and was about to say goodbye, but something stopped her. He had an expression she had never seen before, so eerily serene. He may be looking at her, but he wasn't _looking _at _her_. Her throat suddenly felt dry and she had to swallow. She finally moved and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him return the embrace and held longer than usual and so did she. Before she let go she had to say something.

"Be careful." She paused. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had to say it. Alex could have sworn she felt him hold her a little tighter for a brief moment. "Those boxes can get really heavy."

When they let go they stared at each other for a few seconds before he turned and walked away. He could feel her eyes staring at him. When Alex was out of sight he took out the phone Joseph gave him and looked at the screen. He put the phone away and waited for Alex to leave before entering the apartment to get ready.

Being the kind of guy that he was, he prepared himself for tonight. He always prepared himself for everything big he had, tests, projects, speeches, and this was no different. For weeks he has been going over what his part was, but most importantly he has been preparing himself mentally. Being who he was, he had to think of the consequences. Unfortunately, consequences weren't going to stop him this time. That usually was the case when it involved Alex.

Once it came close to nightfall, Justin double checked to make sure he had everything in his backpack. A pair of dark gloves, a black hooded sweater, and most important a high tech, expensive laptop that they gave him as a gift for joining. He didn't ask where they got it or why such a gift because he knew it wasn't just for his benefit. When he was done checking he closed his backpack and took a black bandana that was on the table. He tied it around his neck, grabbed his backpack and left.

It was dark when he arrived at the street corner he was supposed to go. He didn't wait long before a black van came and pick him up. As he learned, sometimes they had one person drive and picked them up one by one in assigned places. He was the third to be picked up. Joseph and Lacey were already inside with Ray at the wheel.

"How are you feeling?" Joseph asked.

Justin took deep breaths. "Like I'm going to be sick."

Joseph smiled. "If we get caught I'm sure the cops will have bags for you if you need them." Justin closed his eyes took deeper breaths.

"That's not helping." Joseph chuckled and looked back at the road. "It'll get easier."

"That doesn't help either."

When they were done picking up everyone, they approached their location and parked near a street corner. They all gathered in the back.

"Everyone ready?" They all nodded. Joseph looked Lacey and Chase. "Alright you two go to the roof of the building I told you and keep your eyes open."

Lacey and Chase put on their hood on and slid the door open. "You guys get to have all the fun tonight, so don't forget to have fun Justin." She said with her usual smile and closed the door.

They waited for about five minutes inside the van to give them enough time until their walkie-talkie came alive.

"Ready." They heard Lacey voice.

Gabriel opened the door and they started getting out. Before Justin got out Joseph stopped him. "Forgetting something?" Justin was confused for a second until he noticed he didn't have his sweater on. Justin laughed nervously and put his sweater on. Like them, he wore his hood and covered his face with the bandana. They also all had their own black backpack on their backs, but they didn't seem to have much inside them.

As they walked to the entrance Justin couldn't help, but look around nervously.

"Are sure there aren't any guards inside that bank?"

"I'm sure. There aren't that many guards when the bank is closed from what we gathered."

The reason they were doing a bank was because they hadn't done one and a while. It was better not to do banks too frequently because that would just get them notice, plus banks paid well, even the ones that weren't that big.

They all stopped just from view of the two guards on front of the entrance. Joseph signaled Zack and Gabriel. The two guys moved in front and the rest moved back. Gabriel got an idea and looked around the ground. He picked up two marble size rocks and showed it to Zack. He could almost see Zack smiling under the cover. They both quickly got a good angle and aimed at the guards.

"Wha-Ah!" Both guards got hit on the face and they made their move. Zack swiftly got behind one guard and got him in a headlock until he went unconscious from the lack of oxygen. Gabriel did the same, but knocked the air out him before following Zack.

Seeing as they were done, Joseph and the others approached. They searched for the keys and let themselves in. They all immediately, except for Justin and Joseph, spread and took out all the cameras around as quick as they could.

"Stay close. This is your first time doing a bank job. Next time you won't have a babysitter." Justin didn't like that there was going to be a next time. He could barely stand being there as it was.

When all the cameras were out they gathered in front of the vault. Joseph turned to Justin.

"Your turn."

Justin closed his eyes and took another deep breath before taking out his laptop. He quickly found the bank's server and didn't waste anytime looking for the vaults' locks. While Justin was busy Joseph closely examined the steel door. He turned and looked at Kate. He nodded to the door. Kate took out a spray can and sprayed around the door. Thin red beams of light appeared all over the vault. Joseph looked at Justin, about to say something, but he stopped him.

"I know." He said without being told. All his concentration was on the screen. "I'm taking those out first." Joseph smirked a little under his mask. He sure had a good eye for talent.

"Everything okay in your end." Joseph said using the walkie-talkie.

"Everything looks fine from up here." Lacey responded.

"How about you Ray?"

"Nothing, but ghosts." He answered back. "How's he doing?" He already knew who he was talking about. Joseph looked at Justin. "How far-"

"Last one aaaaand done." Justin finished hitting one last key.

The electronic lock came off and the vault door opened. Kate sprayed one more time and the beams were gone.

Zack excitedly shook Justin by his shoulders and Kate jumped also excited.

"Everyone, take as much as you can." They all entered and started filling their backpacks with all the dollar bills they could grab. Justin stood outside, staring at what he had accomplished. All this was he doing and now he was going to have to live with it. There was no excuse when you made a choice.

"Justin, stop spacing out and get in here." Gabriel said.

Justin closed his eyes and suddenly saw an image of Alex. His eyes snapped open and quickly joined them. A few minutes later, just as they were all finishing, Justin's laptop started beeping. He rushed back out and looked at the screen.

"I was afraid of this!" Justin said as he quickly pushed keys. "Everyone get out now!" He yelled. They didn't hesitate and ran out, but the red beams appeared before they all got out.

The alarm went off.

"What happened?!" Joseph yelled over the alarm.

Justin closed his laptop and stood up. "This is what I was talking about earlier. I had no idea what kind of system they had and didn't know how long it was going to take for the security to reboot!"

"Damn!" Joseph took out his communicator. "Chase, Lacey, Ray, get out of here as fast as you can!"

"What about-"

"There is no time to get back to the van. The cops will be here any minute! Now get out of here!" He didn't wait for a response and turned to face the rest of his team.

"When we get out we'll make a run for it and I want everyone to split up. There is no point if we all get caught." Just then they started to hear the police sirens coming. He looked at Justin as everyone got ready. "I'm not going to lie. We are going to get chased!" Justin looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown along with heart attack. Joseph and the others secured tightly the straps on their backpacks like they were parachutes so they wouldn't fall.

"Justin, remember we all have our reasons for doing this. Keep that reason burning in your mind if you want to get out of this and don't forget to make your own finish line." Joseph turned and started running towards the entrance.

The sound of the sirens were getting closer fast.

"Alright, let's go, let's go!" They all started running and Justin did too. Once they hit the street they went their on different way. When Justin reached the entrance he immediately stopped and cursed. He ran back inside the vault to get his full backpack. He shoved his laptop inside and closed it. He quickly ran for the door as the sirens got closer, they didn't sound that far away anymore. As he ran he swung his backpack over his shoulder.

As he finally made it outside the first cop car screech its tires into a halt at one side of the street with other two coming behind it. He quickly turned the other way and ran as he secured the straps tightly. Another cop car stopped him from the other side. Justin didn't even think about stopping. He made a dash for the nearby alley. As he ran he heard a few cops chasing him.

Justin turned to his right at the end of the alley and didn't waste a minute as he frantically looked everywhere for a way to get him out of there. As he kept running he heard them slow down.

"Freeze or we'll shoot!" One shouted.

The adrenaline pumping in him gave him enough courage to climb a wooden fence on his left side. As he fell on the other side into another alley he heard a bullet hit the top of the fence. Justin didn't stop running, but took a quick look behind him with his eyes widen.

_They're really shooting me!_ He couldn't believe it. This was far worse than his initiation!

He hastily made a turn to get out of their sight before they climbed the fence. He saw the street at the end, but his hopes were swept away when a police car suddenly block the exit. Justin didn't have time to process, but his feet turned back around. He immediately turned into another alley he passed before. As he turned, he got a small glimpse of the cops that shot him turning at the corner he originally came from.

The alley he was in wasn't that big and had to turn to the right. He stopped dead on his tracks when he saw the big wooden fence. There was no way he could climb that! The footsteps of the cops were very close. They would be there any second! Justin desperately looked around and he almost cried when he saw it. Justin pulled a trash can out the way. A hole at the corner of the wooden fence. It didn't look like he could fit, but he had to try. He quickly kicked it and made it a little wider, but not much. He barely wasted a second getting down on the ground and crawled as fast as he could. With much thrashing on his part when he got stuck he finally was able to get through.

"There he is!" He heard them as he got most of his body to the other side.

The second he got his feet through he saw a pair of arms trying to grab him from the hole. Not wasting time, he continued to run. That fence would buy him a bit of time, but it wouldn't be long before they made a bigger hole to get through. He had to get out this alley, but as he looked around he couldn't find a way out to the streets. Just as he predicted it wasn't long before he heard them running after him. Thankfully, they didn't sound like they were too close.

He started to notice he was running out of breath and it was only a matter of time before he wouldn't be able to run anymore. He inwardly groaned when he saw another dead end ahead of him. He ran a bit more before making a left turn. His hopes for getting out of this died when he saw where he ended up. No more fences to climb or holes to crawl, just three buildings boxing him. He stood there, breathing hard as he looked at every direction.

The cops that were chasing Justin got through the hole and saw him a little far ahead. As they continued to chase after him they saw him turn to the left into another part of the alley. When they made the same turn they hit the dead end, but there was no Justin.

"Didn't he come this way?" They all searched the place until one of them saw two boxes, one on top of the other. The cop followed the boxes up.

"Up there!" They all looked up.

Justin was half way up the fire escape of one of the buildings. They quickly caught on and followed after him.

Justin was trying to climb as quietly as possible, but when he heard them spot him and he didn't bother with subtlety anymore. He hurried and finished climbing the rest of the way. By the time he reached the roof he was getting really tired, but he knew he couldn't stop. The police were right on his tail as he ran on the roof. He saw the he was running out of roof, but luckily the building next to it wasn't far. He did something he never imagined he would ever do. He didn't think about it and just jumped. His landing did need work though. He stumbled and fell down, getting himself dirty when he reached the other roof.

He quickly stood back up and kept running. That was going to cost him, he knew the ones chasing him weren't going to fall like he did. As he ran he vaguely heard the sound of the sirens going off somewhere else. It seems he wasn't the only one getting chased. Justin briefly wondered who it was, but then focused. He had his own problems at the moment.

By the time he jumped for the third time across buildings, his landing got better, but his luck ran out when he looked at the end of the roof he was on. The gap to the other building was easily fifteen feet. He couldn't jump that! The cops also saw this and slowed down their pace as they took out their guns. There were no other buildings or fire escapes he could go to.

"Stop! There is no other way to run!" One shouted to make him stop.

Justin closed his eyes tightly, but didn't stop.

_There has to be a way. There has to be something! _

His mind thought of all that was going to happen to him. He saw himself go to jail.

_Anything! _

He saw Alex seeing him behind bars with tears and then being taken away from him.

_Anything! _

Then he just saw Alex.

_ANYTHING!_

As he reached the edge he heard the cops shouting at him and did the only thing that he could think of and opened his eyes.

"_Levetas Salidus" _His feet faintly glowed for less than a second and jumped.

All his senses dulled, but his vision. Time felt like it slowed down as he was in the air. He tried to hear, but everything was silent. He didn't hear the police yelling, he didn't hear the wind, he didn't hear anything. All he felt was the old dormant feeling and what it gave him.

Time resume back to normal with a vengeance when he reached the other roof or more like the edge. His arms were the only thing that made it to the roof. With a heavy thud his body hit the side of the building, knocking the wind out of him. Besides the lack of air, his ribs were in serious pain. He held on for a few seconds trying to get a hold of the pain. He hoped he didn't break any. He used whatever strength he had left to pull himself up.

The cops that were at the other side had there mouths hanging open with disbelief. They just stood, watching Justin pulling himself all the way and using his feet to push himself over the edge onto the roof. They couldn't believe what they just saw. They were too shocked to stop Justin as he walked out of their sight. Their words forgotten. By the time they got over it he was already gone.

Justin used the latter that was attached to the building to get down. When he stepped down onto the ground he winced in pain and wrapped his arms around his ribs. He gave himself a few short moments, but he knew he couldn't stay there and started jogging down the side walk. He just couldn't run anymore. He was drained and in pain. When he was a good distance away and felt sure he'd lost them, he slowed down into a walk. As he walked he had one arm around his ribs. He took notice of his surroundings to see where he was and began his walk home.

After walking seven blocks he noticed he was in a similar place to the other run down streets of the city. The few people that were there didn't even looked at his direction as he passed them.

Justin was passing a store display window and saw his reflection. He stopped walking and looked at himself. He brought down his bandana from his face, but kept the hood on.

Look at him. No wonder nobody paid any attention to him. He fit in so well now. A lone tear escaped his eye. He turned away and kept walking to the only thing that now truly didn't belong in this place.

It was completely dark when he came to the apartment. He locked the door behind him and dragged his feet over to the small hall. He opened the closet and hid his backpack behind the boxes. Alex never opened the closet, it would be fine there. Justin walked inside the bedroom and saw his reason. He went to her side and stood there staring at her. He took off his hood and sat down on the floor beside her bed. He leaned against the bed and took her hand. He watched her sleep peacefully with small, sad smile.

He fell asleep like that and had only one thought in his head repeating itself.

_It was for her._

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Well, what can I say, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and school is still a pain. As you can see this chapter is a little long and I hope you like it. I would very much appreciate reviews!


	11. Chapter 11

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**Annoying Lies**

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Lying, lying, lying is all Justin feels he has been doing lately. Lie after lie have been spilling out of his mouth around her. He has been lying so much he is afraid he is going to get tangled in his own lies and fall. The worst part of it all was the more he did it and the more time passed, the guilt faded a little every time and that frighten him. He was starting to realize the most scary things weren't out in the world, but in himself. What did it matter now anyway? All he could do now was go on forward and hope the fall wasn't in the near future. He learned from Alex that all lies eventually come out, but he will be damned if he didn't try his hardest to keep it for as long as he could. Alex would be proud. He has even managed to keep it from the master herself.

Speaking of her…

Justin was staring at her as they walked to her work. Alex for the most part has been doing pretty well ignoring his gaze, but a girl could only take so much.

"What?" She asked with a hint of irritation. Justin stared a little longer. "Junior year is almost coming to an end." He implied.

"Yeah, so?"

"Isn't there some kind of farewell event coming soon?" Alex slightly frowned.

"Not that I can think of." She clearly didn't want to talk about the certain subject.

"Why haven't you been getting ready for your junior prom!" He quickly blurted out.

Alex groaned and covered her eyes. "I don't wan to talk about it."

"It's junior prom! You can't miss it!" Justin said it like it was a big deal, which wasn't the case for her.

"It's just a stupid dance. Who cares if I don't go?" She picked up her pace. The sooner she got to Ricky's the sooner this will be over.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe your friends and me." Alex raised her eyebrows and looked at him. "You?"

"I'm suppose to look after you. What kind of normal girl doesn't want to go to prom?" There was a pause in the air. "We are ignoring the fact that you're not normal at all." He added.

"If you haven't noticed I've been acting pretty normal since we moved here." Alex said.

"Yeah, I've noticed." He said quietly to himself, finally breaking his gaze.

"What?" He ignored her, but before she got too annoyed with him, he looked back at her. "You've been acting too normal if you ask me. I mean when was the last time you tried to pull something on me. You don't even seem to be Alex to me anymore." He couldn't believe what he was saying, but he really missed the old Alex. He was going as far as provoking her.

Alex narrowed her eyes. "Watch it." He ignored her and smirked. "I don't even think you can prank anymore."

"Justin." She warned him, but he continued. "I bet you don't have your touch anymore either, since you're so out of practice." That did it!

"Justin!" She lightly pushed him to the side as they walked and he smiled. "What?"

Alex was staring at him intensely, which was making him uncomfortable. What was with the stare? He was about to look away, but she snapped at him. "Justin!" She didn't let his attention go.

"Just look at me." She said. Justin concentrated thinking she wanted him to spot something on her. He looked her over, but he couldn't find anythi-

Thud!

Justin walked right into a pole and smashed his head. As he held his head he heard Alex laughing uncontrollably. "You asked for it." She said still laughing and holing her sides.

After Alex calmed down and kept telling him he wasn't bleeding, they continued to walk. Alex looked at him, smiling. "Still think I don't have it." Justin didn't respond, but secretly he was happy. Not because of the headache he had now, but because the old Alex had come out.

When they arrived at Ricky's they said their goodbyes. As he walked away he heard Alex calling him. She looked a bit worried. "Be careful when you come home tonight." He tried to smile and nodded. He knew why she said that.

The continuing lies started there.

_Flashback_

_Alex was once again waking up by herself because her alarm was failing her again. Just another normal day…or she thought until she sat up._

"_Justin!" She yelled, alarmed when she saw her brother half on her bed and half on the ground. He didn't respond. He was too tired. Alex got out of bed and kneeled next to him. She took a good look at him and she was more than a little surprised. He looked like he had been dragged down an alley. All his clothes were dirty and what's up with all the black?_

"_Justin wak-" She started saying, but stopped when she shook him from the side. He immediately woke up with a loud groan and held his side. When he saw where he was he looked everywhere, but her and sat on the bed._

_Alex frowned as she saw his depressed expression and before he could say anything she raised his shirt and sweater. She gasped when she saw the bruise across his chest. "Justin, what happened?" She said, looking at him. Her gaze told him not to screw with her. Justin looked straight in her eyes and for the few seconds that passed something in him clicked. All he did last night was to protect her, keep her safe, and most important, to make her happy. All the truth would do was take all that away. He wouldn't-no, he will not let his efforts be for nothing. He will do anything to keep her safe and happy. He proved that last night and if from now on he was going to have to be constantly be lying to her then so be it._

"_I…on my way home these guys came out of nowhere and they…" Alex's frown deepened. Justin kept his gaze on the floor. "They jumped you." She said. Justin nodded. "They threw me into an alley and hit me a few times, but I was able to get away before they did more damage." He said all these while looking at the ground. It would've looked suspicious to her if she wasn't so worried about him._

"_Oh, Justin." She didn't care how dirty he was, she hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad your okay." She is so glad nothing too serious happened to him. She wouldn't know what she would do if he had been seriously hurt. Because her face was buried on his chest she didn't see the pained expression across his face. One things was for sure, it wasn't because of his bruises._

_Flashback_

There was not a day that went by that was dull for Justin when he met the guys at the old building hang out after finishing his shift at Ralph's. It wasn't so much hanging out for Justin than being on military school. Since they no longer needed to prepare for the bank job and they were on a break Justin was free with time and they all thought it was a good time to put him into shape. Now when I mean in shape I mean _their_ standard for in shape. Their work demanded for them to be in better condition than others. Justin was no exception.

"No, no, no, you're doing it wrong." Zack said a bit irritated. At the moment Zack was teaching Justin the right way to punch after doing warm-ups. Teaching him how to punch was more of a challenge than he thought.

"You need to put some of your body weight into it." Zack raised a fist and showed how to do it. "When you throw your fist let your body go with it a little." Justin followed his example. Justin was determined to get this. If all they were teaching helped him stay out jail and most of all killed than he was going to definitely learn. He couldn't rely on magic. He had to make sure he wouldn't get himself in a situation where he would be forced to use it. He knew it was going to be unavoidable at some point, but that was in the future and he was focusing in the now.

Justin raised his fist. "Don't use your body weight too much or you'll-" Justin put too much weight on it and fell forward. "fall." Zack sighed.

"He'll get it, don't worry. He's good at learning." Gabriel said a he watched.

"Yeah, well it would be easier if you could help me." He said looking at Gabriel's injured arm. Not everyone was able to get away unharmed from the bank. When things hit the fan you have to expect casualties. Hell, they were surprised when Justin came the next day with nothing broken.

_Flashback_

_Everyone, but Gabriel and Justin, were gathered at sun point. They were more than surprised when Justin walked through the door and dropped his backpack on Joseph's feet. "Here." _

_They all stared at him a bit shocked._

_Justin looked at them. "What?"_

_A grin form on Zack's face. "Justin, you made it!" He went and put his arm around his neck. "Everyone here thought you were caught. Joseph was actually starting to feel a little bad for you."_

"_Love the confidence guys." As they all congratulated him, Joseph looked inside Justin's backpack and slowly smiled. He put it down where the rest of the other backpacks were and came over to Justin. "I guess you got lucky unlike Gabriel."_

_Justin looked at him, looking bit pale. Joseph knew what he was thinking. "No, he didn't get caught, but he was shot." Justin gulped. "Is he…" Joseph shook his head. "No he's fine. Just the arm." Justin nodded and relaxed, but still was a bit tense._

"_But you can't expect to get lucky every time." Joseph stared at him completely serious. "So, since we won't be in action for a while. We are going to use the time to make sure you don't need luck next time." Justin look at him confused._

_Flashback_

Gabriel looked over Zack's shoulder smirked. "See, he's starting to get it." Zack turned around and saw Justin punching semi-right.

Maybe it wouldn't take as long as he thought.

Kate suddenly came and stopped Justin's punching practice. "Kate, what are you doing?" Zack said, upset because they were finally making progress.

Kate grabbed Justin by the arm and dragged him away. "You can come back to your little fighting training later. Now it's time to work on your stamina with a run."

"I already showed you guys I can run." Justin said as he was forced to follow her.

"No matter how good you are at something there is always room to get better." She said, smiling. "That's why we are going to do laps around the building." He looked at her like she was crazy. "Won't we look weird to the people that walk by."

"We don't have time to be weird!" She said as she dragged him out the one way door to the back of the building.

"Great." Zack looked at the door they left and back at Gabriel. "Now what?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Tacos?"

A few days later and nothing much changed. Justin wasn't making any progress with the whole prom subject. Alex didn't budge and he knew he was running out of time. Prom was getting closer and Alex wasn't making this easy. She was closing all his options and realized he wasn't going to be able to convince her by himself. He was going to need some help and he knew exactly who to go to.

It was time for Cat and Jane to meet Alex's brother.

* * *

"Okay Alex what's the big deal about Prom?" Jane asked as they ate their lunch.

"Yeah Alex." Cat said. Just like Justin, Cat and Jane were bothering her with prom. She could understand Jane, but Cat? She thought Cat would be on her side. She wasn't the girly type just like her.

"Exactly! No big deal! Why are you making it into one?"

"Is it because you don't have a date?" Jane asked. Alex rolled her eyes. Here we go again.

"For the millionth time no." They have been on this whole prom and date subject for the last few days. It really was starting to get to her.

"I don't have a date and I'm still going." Cat said, trying to convince her.

Alex didn't care that she didn't have a date. It didn't mean nobody had asked her. There were a lot of guys that had asked her, but she knew she wasn't going to go and turned them down. And even if all the guys were crazy enough not to ask her, it was their loss.

"I don't care that I don't have a date. Now can we talk about something else." Alex said.

"But Alex!"

Alex growled in frustration. The whole time that she was in school it was none stop questions about prom. To her dismay, it didn't get better after school.

Alex, Cat, and Jane were waiting by the tree as usual. Alex at the time wished she had earplugs… or that she could conjure up some. Why did she stop using magic again? Oh, right brought bad memories. It was times like this that made her think not using magic was not such a good idea.

Alex came out of her thoughts and noticed they suddenly stopped with their talking and questions. Had her miracle finally occurred.

"What is it?"

"Cute guy coming this way and looks like a senior." Jane said, looking over Alex's shoulder.

"He does look kind of cute and he is looking straight at you." Cat said, looking over her other shoulder.

Alex closed her eyes and hope they were kidding. She didn't want to say no again to another guy. It made her feel bad every time she did it. She sighed. "Look if you want to got to prom I don-"

"Wow Alex I didn't know that you wanted me to go to prom with you, but if that is what's going to make you go then I guess I'll go. I got to tell you though it's going to be very weird for me." She heard a certain voice behind her.

Alex immediately turned around to a smirking Justin.

"Justin?" This was a change. Usually he came a few minutes after school was over and when he came early he would always wait for her friends to leave. He didn't know it, but she's seen him sometimes. Why is he showing himself now?

"Justin? As in your brother Justin?" Jane asked, looking him over along with Cat. They have been meaning to see Alex's mysterious brother she lived with. They have been picturing in different ways how he looked. They had gone from tough protective older brother to shy sensitive older brother and all in between. Considering how Alex was, they didn't think he would look so normal.

"Yes I am." He smiled at them and then looked at Alex with a smirk. "You have been talking about me?" Had the popular Alex Russo been talking about her dorky brother?

Alex crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. I only talked about you when we were extremely bored and had nothing to do."

"I'm just surprised the so popular Alex would be gracious enough to talk-"

"About how much of a nerd you are? Yeah, haven't I always." She finished with a smirk.

"That coming from another nerd." Justin looked at her friends. "She is such a good student isn't she, with all those A's she has been getting." That left her mouth hanging open. She had no come back for that because it was true. All that talking she did about how good of a little student he was in the past was coming back to bite her now that she was one herself.

Cat and Jane had been watching, amused as they talked. So this was Alex with her brother. They didn't know what was different about Alex. Something changed the moment Justin came. It was a small change, but they didn't know what. Also, those two were entertaining to watch.

"So are you guys talking about going to prom?" He asked them.

"Well, we are, but Alex says she's not going." Cat said, giving Alex a disapproving look like a mother would give their child. Alex groaned.

And they were back to this.

Justin looked at her two friends and then at her. Justin sighed and got this sad look on his face. "I've should have expected this." Alex blinked and looked at him.

"She has always been so shy when it came to dances at school." Now she narrowed her eyes. What was this about being shy? Before she could speak up he went on. He looked at her friends with a convincing sad expression. "She's shy because of how insecure she feels when it comes to these things, you know?"

Oh, that was a low. She saw how Justin was trying his hardest not to smile and how her friends were buying every single word. He found a way. He was attacking her pride and dammit! It was working! Alex Russo was not shy or insecure!

Cat and Jane turned to look at her with _their _sad eyes now. Before they could say anything she cut them of. "We're going to the mall tomorrow to buy our dresses. I'll meet you guys there." She said, between gritted teeth and stormed away. She will deal with Justin at home. Now she had to worry about finding a dress that wasn't too girly for her.

_And when the hell did Justin learn how to lie like that?_

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**I thank you all for the wonderful reviews I've been getting and hope to keep getting more of them. It's what makes my writing possible. Since this is going to be my last chapter for the year...Happy New Year!**


	12. Chapter 12

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**Stealing A Dance**

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After a week of planning and buying dresses, prom night had arrived.…Well, not exactly, but the sun was close to finishing setting. Everything was going according to plan. Meaning, according to Alex's plan. That was the reason why she was rushing around everywhere around the apartment getting ready at the last minute. Even though she had everything ready, she still found a way to run late somehow. It was stupid of Justin to think Alex had completely changed. She had gotten a dress, a ride, and she had gotten the courage to tell her friends where she lived to pick her up. The hardest for her was the last one. Telling her friends where she lived meant they were going to _see_ where she lived. The small place she and Justin lived wasn't in a bad neighborhood, but it still wasn't the nicest place to live and one of the things Alex hated the most was pity.

Back to the whole Alex was late part. Justin was having a very entertaining time watching his sister run around their apartment. At the moment Justin was lying on her bed with his hands behind his head as he watched her. He saw Alex rushed out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a towel on her arm. She took the time to stop and glared at her so helpful brother.

"Will you be of some help and do something?" No matter how much she glared, he kept grinning. He was enjoying this a bit too much.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Get my dress or something. This whole thing was your idea and fault!" She turned around and left to the bathroom to take her shower. No matter how many times she accused him, he couldn't feel bad. It was just too much fun, but being who he was he thought he could be of some help. He stood up and went to the living room. Her dress that Alex bought was on the couch. It was a purple, strapless dress. He looked down at the ground near the couch and couldn't help, but smile. Ah, yes the heels. Alex sure hated wearing heels. They weren't too high, but heels were heels to her. Justin picked up the dress and foot wear and went back to her room.

When Alex came out Justin was sitting on the foot of the bed with her dress behind him. When Alex came into the room he stopped staring at the ceiling and looked at her. His eyebrows slightly furrowed as he saw Alex only wearing a towel and drying her hair with another. He has seen her in only a towel a couple of times before, it had to happened since they lived together, but looking at her now something was different. It was as he was seeing her for the first time after years of not seeing her. The last time he saw her in a towel wasn't like this. Through his eyes he always saw his little baby sister, but now it was different. It wasn't something that was replacing his old view, but adding to it. Besides his little sister he was also seeing a growing woman.

She finished drying her hair and threw her towel to Justin.

"Justin stand up." Alex said, before leaving the room. He didn't what she was up to, but he complied anyway. When she came back she gave him a semi-big mirror. Justin gaped as he looked at what she dropped on his hands.

"Alex is this the bathroom cabinet mirror?!"

"Yes. Now turned around so I can do my make-up." She calmly said as she sat at the foot of the bed.

"How did y…why woul…you could've done this in the bathroom!" He turned around, not for her to do her make-up, but to yell at her. She ignored the volume of his voice and started applying her make-up. "I know, but since you've been so _helpful _I decided you needed to do something." Justin wanted to argue back, but couldn't think of anything and just did what he was told. It would've been less work if she just did this in the bathroom, but no. The only time Alex bother to do something that involved work, other than school and her job, was to annoy him. Somewhere inside his head the school part still didn't seem right.

Alex didn't wore too much make-up so he didn't have to stand there too long. Just a bit of lip gloss and other things. When she was done Justin left and closed the door behind him for her to change and hopefully see if he could put the mirror back.

Justin waited on the couch for her close to forty minutes. He looked at the time and what do you know, she was actually going to be ready on time. He heard the bedroom door open and turned around as she walked into the living room. A smile slowly appeared on his face. Purple always did look good on her. The dress hugged her body just right and her hair was adorned with curls at the end.

He got up and walked over to her.

"Alex, you look beautiful." Alex made a whining noise and looked at him like she was annoyed.

_Oh, right. She isn't a normal girl._ He thought. Alex didn't like when someone was too girly with her.

"Oh, come on. Mom would have said the same thing." He reasoned.

"Yeah and dad would have been crying his eyes out saying his little girl was growing up." They both smiled, remembering their parents and actually not feel bad. That didn't happen often.

Justin raised his hands and rested them on her shoulders. "You really look great." He said, sincerely. They stared at each other for a few moments. She really was turning into a beautiful woman. He slowly slid his hands up her soft skin until they rested on her jaw with his thumbs near her cheeks. They didn't seem to notice how long they stayed looking at each others eyes like that or how different this was. This was a first for them and they didn't notice. Justin was too distracted by how beautiful she looked. To Alex, the way they were right now felt very…nice. The horn from the limousine outside brought them back. Justin let go of her and they walked to the door. He opened it for her and smiled.

"Have a nice time."

"Yeah, well I would if I didn't have to were these torture devices." Meaning her heels. "I'll probably will end up throwing these things hard at someone and injure them for the pain they will cause me." She walked out.

"If you don't come home then I'll know where to find you."

"Where is that?"

"The police station." He thought for a moment. "You know what? I'll just go there now and wait for you."

"Ha ha. Your so funny." She waved at him and he watched as she left in the limousine.

Justin stood outside the door for a few minutes before going back inside. Alex wasn't the only one that had a busy night in front of them.

_Flashback_

_Justin's training continued along side their small vacation. As the days passed they had made a routine. Each day when Justin arrived after his job, he and Zack would do warm-ups to build muscle and then get to the lesson of the day. After getting the basics of punching Zack started teaching Justin combinations that would help in a fight._

_Joseph watched as Justin continued with his training. He had a very thoughtful expression on his face as he watched. Chase saw the look he had and came beside him._

"_What's on your mind? You have that look on your face which means you're up to something." Joseph didn't say anything, still lost in his thoughts._

"_He has been doing great so far and the way I see it he is going to be as good as us once he let goes of everything." They both watched as Justin did a few combinations with Zack at his side guiding him. "You and everyone else know what we were missing back at the bank." Chase chose to stay silent. He knew what he was talking about._

"_It's because he was with us." Chase said, looking at Justin. "He definitely wouldn't have come if we had brought them. We took a big risk for him." _

_Joseph kept looking at Justin. "He's been with us long enough. He's ready." Chase stopped looking at Justin and turned his eyes to Joseph._

"_I think it's time for Justin to learn a new skill." Joseph said._

_Lacey made a laughing noise and they looked over at her. She was lying on the couch and she didn't take her eyes of her magazine as she made a gun with her fingers and pointed at them. "Bang, Bang."_

_Flashback_

Justin made sure he locked the door before leaving and left the key under the mat. He wore the same thing he had when they went to the bank, except for the black jeans. He liked being prepared and had two of them. The other one was dirty from slipping on mud the other day, which Alex had a big laugh about. He was saving this new pair until the other one wore out, but he had no choice. Just because he was doing something illegal didn't mean he had to look dirty.

As Justin waited on an unknown sidewalk he couldn't get rid of the nervous feeling that came over him. Yes, he was still nervous about breaking the law even though he already did it once, but that wasn't the main reason. This was going to be his first mission in a two men team. It was just going to be him and Joseph. There was something about numbers that made him feel a little more at ease. He guessed there was less pressure with more people. Tonight it was just going to be him and Joseph. He had told him that the job they had to do only required two people.

Joseph showed up a few minutes later in his car. It was a two seat car and Justin didn't hesitate getting in the passenger side. They drove in silence most of the way. Justin looked out the window, confused as they went inside a movie theater parking garage.

"Are we going to watch a movie while were stealing?" Justin sarcastically asked.

Joseph smirked. "You still have a lot to learn." They drove around the first floor for a bit until they found parking. They got out and went to the trunk. Joseph handed him his backpack and put his on.

Justin felt his backpack and looked at Joseph. "It's empty."

"I'll we need is here." He pointed at his own backpack. "You'll be carrying our prize." He said, closing the trunk. Once they walked out of the garage they started walking away from the movie theater.

"You still haven't told me what we are going to steal." Justin whispered the last part and then looked around him as if someone had heard him.

"You're about to get an idea." They walked about a block away from the garage and on the way they put on their gloves, covered their faces, and put their hood on. They stopped near a museum. Justin started sweating a little and became a bit pale.

"Great. Now I'm going to be an art thieve." He said in a depressive tone.

Joseph guided him to the side of the building. He looked at the building and then at his watch. "It shouldn't be long now." He murmured and took off his backpack. In the meantime Justin had his eyes closed, taking deep breaths.

"Take this." He heard Joseph say and put something on his hand, but he didn't take his hand off. Justin opened his eyes and the color completely drained from his face. Joseph immediately covered Justin's mouth with his free hand before he gave them away. While Justin had his mental breakdown he made sure not to let Justin drop what was on his hand like he was trying to. After a few minutes of struggling Justin calmed down somewhat. When he was free Justin looked at what he was holding.

"Are you crazy! Wait, don't answer that!" Justin whispered.

"Justi-"

"You are really nuts if you think I'm going to use this!"

"Let me expl-"

"I can't believe you-" Joseph once again covered his mouth with his hand to shut him up.

"They're dart guns." Justin stared at him, and the gun he wanted to desperately drop. Joseph looked at him completely serious. "Justin, at some point you knew you were going to have to use one of these." Justin kept staring at what he was holding. "This particular museum has guards and the only way to get what we came here for is to disable them." Joseph saw all the emotions that went through Justin's eyes. He saw, anger, confusion shame, and sadness. Joseph sighed. "Justin, this isn't going to be the only time you are going to have to use this… or the real thing." He didn't miss how Justin became tense at does last words. "Even if you back down now, there is always going to be a next time. I know this is hard for you, but just because something is hard doesn't mean it's impossible. You just have to have a good reason that helps you overcome it."

Justin stood still as Joseph gave him time. Eventually, Justin gave him the smallest of nods. After seeing that, Joseph knelt down and started looking through his backpack.

"I know this isn't something you want to do or hear, but there is going to be a time were you're going to have to use a real gun. You may hate it, but it could save your life. There might come a day when someone will want to harm you or someone you care about and the only way to protect yourself is by using one of the real things." Joseph smile while he kept going through his backpack. "It's not like you can just magically stop them and get rid of them." Justin's eyes snapped from the object in his hand to Joseph.

All of a sudden Joseph's watch started beeping, which he quickly turned off.

"Alright, time to work." Joseph stood up and put on his backpack.

"Wait."

He looked over at Justin. "How do you…?" He gestured to the dart gun. Joseph smiled. "Oh, right." He raised his own for him to see.

"Safety on, safety off." He showed him. Then he showed him how to reload. It took a couple tries, but Justin got it.

Once they were ready Justin looked at the wall of the museum. "So, how are going to get in. There are no windows on the first floor from this side."

Joseph pointed at the window on the second floor. Justin stared at him.

"Um, how are we going to reach that?" He then noticed what was wrapped around Joseph's shoulder. It was what he had taken out from his backpack before, but didn't notice until now.

"Is that a grappling hook?"

Joseph swung it over his head and then threw it near the window. He pulled it a few times to make sure it was stable.

"Okay." Justin looked at the rope. "What about the windows? Won't they have sensor alarms?" Joseph pointed at his watch and started walking to the rope. "We have about an hour before the power is back."

Justin looked at him confused.

"Just because it's just us _here_, doesn't mean there isn't someone else doing something else in some other place." It took a few seconds for Justin to understand. "But from here on it's really going to be just us. We are on our own now." And with that he started climbing and Justin nervously followed.

When they reached the window Joseph picked the lock of the window and silently opened it. He quickly scanned the area and dropped in when he didn't see any guards. Justin took a deep breath to try in clam himself and then dropped in too. They both saw moving lights coming from different directions. Since the lights were out, all the guards were using flashlights, which was good thing for them. They will be able to see were the guards were.

Joseph got his dart gun ready and showed Justin to do the same. As they started moving, Justin quietly followed Joseph since he didn't tell him what they were looking for or where it was. As they approached the opening to another room Joseph saw a guard leaning on the frame of the opening. He looked at Justin and pointed with his head to the guard. It would be good practice for him. Joseph had his eyes focused on the guard and gun ready just in case Justin missed. He heard Justin taking a few deep breaths and a few seconds passed before the shot was taken. Joseph relaxed as he saw the hit reach its target. It was at the bottom of the leg, almost on the foot, but he hit him.

"Did I hit him?" Justin whispered.

Joseph looked behind at him. "Yes, didn't you-"

"Paul?"

They both immediately turned to see a guard coming towards the unconscious guard on the ground. Joseph swiftly took aim and shot him down just as he saw the body.

Joseph sighed. "Let's keep going."

Once they went though a couple more rooms, they ended up in a hallway. These few last rooms had a few more guards then expected and amazingly Justin took out at least two. Though why he kept aiming at the legs and arms was beyond Joseph. As they walked down the hall a small part of Joseph honestly thought Justin would have freaked out by now, but it seemed his fear of getting caught was a great motivator.

As they neared the end of the hall, a guard appeared. Since Justin was at the front at the moment, he took the shot. It hit the guard on the torso, before he could alert anyone. It was also the first time Joseph actually saw Justin shoot and by what he saw, Joseph could shoot himself right now. Now he knew why the odd aiming.

"Justin?" He called him to get his attention.

Justin looked at him. "Yeah?"

"A piece of advice. When it comes to shooting a gun. It really helps when you shoot with your eyes open!" He said as loud as he could without giving them away.

"Well, I really get nervous when I see I have a gun in my hand and I'm aiming at someone. It makes me feel very, very bad!" An another time this would've have been funny, but now was not the time.

Joseph rubbed his temples. "Just aim with your eyes next time."

When they came out of the hall they found themselves in the main room because of its sizes. Joseph quickly pulled Justin with him behind the railing near the stairs to take cover.

"Stay put." He told him as he looked over the railing to take count. When he came back down he didn't look at Justin. Justin saw he was thinking and didn't disturbed him. After a few minutes Joseph looked at him.

"Okay, there are two guards across the room on this floor, another two on each side of the room on the first floor, three walking around the main entrance that is just below us, two on the entrance of the hall we need to go through, and I'm pretty sure there a few more beyond the hall where the painting we're looking for is."

Justin stared at him and blinked.

"You got all that from a three second glance." He said.

"If you don't learn fast, you'll get yourself caught or killed." He frankly said.

He made sure his gun was loaded and took a quick look at the hall they came from before turning back to Justin.

"We're completely out numbered and we can't fool around anymore." Justin looked offended. He thought he has been doing pretty well so far. "I'm going to take the right side and you're going to take the left." He stated.

"Of the whole room!"

"Justin, this is serious and we can't slip up. This has to be over in less the sixty seconds. We can't afford to miss even one shot from me or you." Justin started shaking his head rapidly. This was a joke, right? Joseph didn't actually expect him to that! But by the looks of it he was completely serious about this.

"I can't-I-I just can't!"

Joseph saw how he was losing him and grabbed his shoulder. "Justin, listen. There is another reason why I brought you besides learning how to handle a gun." Justin stopped moving along with his irregular breathing. "That feeling that you have right now, that fear is what got you here. It's because of fear that you are where you are. The fear of losing something important to you brought you to us. Some people look at fear like a weakness, but it's not true. That fear has brought you this far, but it has its limits. Fear can only get you so far before it starts getting in your way. You have to overcome it to move forward and this is the time when you have to overcome it if you want to move forward."

Justin stared at him, but was no longer freaking out. That was good, but they were really running out of time.

"Are you going to let fear get in your way and take everything from you?"

That's when he remembered Alex. He has always been afraid of breaking the rules, but when Alex got herself in one of her messes he always helped her even going as far as breaking the rules. Was this any different?

No. Even now it was to help her. Help her get into a good school, help her get a good life.

Justin swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

"Get to the other side. I'll signal you."

Justin started making his way along the railing to the other side of the room. Joseph looked over a Justin before getting ready to move.

"…give me the eyes of an eagle." He looked back at Justin moving form. Did he just say something? Joseph shook his head and got back to focusing.

As Justin neared the stairs on his side he put away his wand. He was glad he convinced himself to bring his wand before he came. He was really hoping not to use it, but it couldn't be helped. He just had to make sure to undo the spell before meeting with Joseph downstairs. He wouldn't want to startle him with his new eyes. He had the sight that would really help an amateur like him. Now if he could just stop his hand from shaking he would be set.

Justin took aim at one of the guards across the room and looked at Joseph. Each shot had to hit, he knew that. He had to put everything aside and focus on this moment. As soon as he gave the signal, it started.

As he pulled the trigger, time slowed down for his senses, just like back when he jumped off the roof, and then resumed when the first guard fell. A second later the guard next to him also went down by Joseph's dart. Justin immediately stood up and started going down the stairs with one step at a time as he carefully took aim at the guard near the hall they needed to go. As that guard fell he swiftly turned to the left to the two guards on his side of the room as he kept taking steps down. Every time he pulled the trigger time slowed for him. Justin didn't let his concentration drop to look at how Joseph was doing. He just had to keep going. He shot the two guards with amazing ease and came the rest of the way down the steps. He didn't waste any time and ran to take cover behind a big case with artifacts in it in the middle of the room. The second he was covered he took aim at the three guards near the main entrance and with his enhanced eye sight he took out the first two and Joseph took the last one. As soon as there were no more guards his back hit the case and slid down to the floor. Justin breath rapidly and tried to calm down as the adrenaline went down.

"Justin, you alright?" He heard Joseph coming. He swallowed and quickly took out his wand. He undid the spell and hid his wand just in time. Joseph stood in front of him with a smile and amusement dancing on his eyes.

"You okay?" He asked.

Justin looked at the unconscious guards lying on the floor from where he was. Justin desperately wanted to remove the bandana from his face, but he knew he couldn't because of the cameras. He felt like he was suffocating. He settled for resting his head against the case and closing his eyes.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Well, suck it up." He held out his hand to help him up. Justin took it. "We don't have time for that." He looked up at the second floor at the hallway they came from. "It won't be long before the other guards-"

"Paul! Mack!" They heard a guard yell.

"I thought we already took care of all of them!" Justin exclaimed.

Joseph didn't waste any time and started going down the hall in a fast walk with Justin close behind him. "Another thing that can get you killed. Don't get cocky." Justin didn't mean it like that, but they did take a lot of them out, or maybe he wasn't being realistic. Before he realized it, they were in the room the painting was in. Joseph made quick work of the two guards there. As they approached the painting Justin saw it was small enough to fit in his backpack.

"Open your backpack." Joseph reached for the painting.

"What about the sensors?" Joseph gave him a look. A look Justin didn't like whatsoever.

Justin started shaking his head. "No, no, no, no. I'm not running around the city again with cops shooting at me!"

"Justin, relax. We have a car-"

"I'm not going on a high speed chase either!"

"What the hell happened?!" They heard voices coming from the main room. "Call the police now!"

Joseph looked over at Justin. "It doesn't matter anymore." He grabbed the painting and the alarms went off. He hastily put it inside Justin's backpack and handed it back to him. He looked at Justin, who was looking down at the hall expecting the guards to come in any second, and saw the fear, anxiety, and adrenaline coming back to him.

"Come on!" Joseph took of running the way they came. Justin came off his little daze and went after him.

The moment they stepped back into the large room, Justin saw guards coming from every room and hallway. Joseph wasn't kidding. They didn't even take out half of them. The place was swarming with guards!

"Stop right there!" Here we go again. Joseph better have a plan because he didn't think he could do another marathon.

"Take out as many as you can!" Joseph said.

That was not a plan!

They both vaulted over the glass case in the middle of the room and started shooting at all the guards that were in their way. As they ran to the main doors, Joseph looked over at Justin.

"At the same time we ram it!" Is not like they had much of a choice.

When they reached the doors, they rammed them and they were out. Joseph recovered well, but Justin fell to his knees. The collision nearly knocked out his breath. Joseph quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him up. Justin groaned, but started running while trying to ignore the pain on his shoulder. He was going to feel that in the morning.

They ran the whole block back to the movie theater's parking. Justin looked behind him and the saw the guards, but they weren't close. He also heard police sirens coming their way and that's when Justin regretted ever waking up this morning. They were going to go on a high speed chase. He looked back at his front to Joseph and saw him looking at his watch.

"Showtime's over." He said. Justin was getting tired and in pain. He didn't have the energy to ask him what the hell he was talking about.

Just as they went inside the parking garage, people started coming out from the theater and into the garage. The streets became very crowed and the guards couldn't see them over the sea of people. By the time the guards and police arrived, people started driving out. With all the cars leaving they had no clue which one they were looking for. When they finally were able to close down the exit's a number of cars had already left.

It was not a good night for them.

As they drove away Justin stuck his head out the window and looked behind them at the ruckus they had created.

"Yeah!" Joseph celebrated. "We did it!" He shouted, giving Justin a light push.

Justin looked at him at a loss of words.

"Did you planned all that?" He asked, amazed. Joseph grinned.

"I told you. We may be thieves, but we aren't idiots."

As they drove away Justin closed his eyes and relaxed. He let all the tension from his body leave. He was glad he was done for the day and now he could go home and sleep. Even with the thoughts of going home, there was something in the back of his mind nagging at him. He wanted to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. He opened his eyes and looked over at Joseph.

"Do you mind if we go somewhere?"

Joseph looked at him.

* * *

So prom wasn't as bad as Alex had thought. It was boring at first, but things started becoming more alive after the music started. She even got to dance with a lot of cute guys who asked her…and then some of them didn't even get to finish because their angry dates came and got them. It wasn't her fault. They came to her and she didn't know they even had dates…

Okay, maybe she knew a _few _that had dates. And that was what got her in this particular predicament she was in now. A very pissed girlfriend was a few feet from her and she looked like the physical type. That's when Cat and Jane came to the rescue. Cat pulled Alex away from the scene, while Jane stayed and tried to talk the girl down. Cat dragged her to the big table that had all the food.

"Alex that's the third time I had to drag your butt from a possible fight." Cat said, irritated.

Alex shrugged and turned towards the table. "Hey, the guy asked me to dance with him. It's not my fault he's not too much into his date." She picked food from the table and looked at her with a nonchalant expression.

Cat covered her eyes and groaned just as Jane came and joined them. "I can't believe I actually talked you into coming. I getting a full workout just keeping you out of trouble." Cat looked at the table and started looking for something. "Where you always like this? I can't imagine someone doing this for your whole life." Cat said, grabbing a cup and going for the punch. Before she could get to it Alex grabbed her wrist. She looked back at Alex.

"My annoying brother is the one your talking about." She answered and then looked at the punch. "It's spiked by the way."

Jane and Cat had bewildered expressions. "How do you know?" Jane asked.

Alex looked at her nails. "Let's just say one of the guys I was dancing with was very…_eager_ to get me some punch." She smirked at them. "Talk about being cliché. Who says you don't learn anything from movies."

"Come on. Just because a guy really wanted to get you some punch doesn't mean-" Alex pointed at a girl that was being led by a guy out through one of the exits from the large room they were in. The girl seemed a bit…tipsy.

"She has being here drinking with that guy for some time before we came to the table." Jane gasped and started looking around for someone. "We should go tell some-"

"Naw uh." Alex interrupted and stopped her. Jane was about to retort, but then followed her gaze at the principal following after them.

"What do you know? Adults aren't completely clueless after all." Cat said. Alex turned back to the table and looked for something else to eat.

"Aw, look. The three dateless losers." All three girls tensed and looked at where the voice came from. As cliché as it was, it seemed that every school had a Gigi. Some worse than others. In this case, worse.

_Seriously, who said watching movies was a waste of time._ Alex saw Mandy with her three wannabes following her like lost puppies.

"What do _you_ want?" Alex said, slightly glaring.

"Oh, you don't have to be hostile. I just wanted to give you three some company, seeing as you all don't have dates." She said with a smirk while her groupies laughed.

"For you information I do have a date." Jane replied with a glare. Mandy's smug face didn't falter. "Well, I guess even losers get lucky sometimes too." Mandy's gaze then went to the other two glaring girls. "And than others don't."

"Oh, shut up Mandy and go sit on a jock's lap like a _good_ girl." Alex said like she was talking to a dog. Mandy scowled, but it didn't last long. "Now, why would I do that? So you can go find him and steal him like I've been hearing lately."

Alex didn't let it face her and kept her cool expression.

"Well, if he came to me than he wouldn't be as brainless as I thought." Alex said, smiling.

Mandy lost her smirk. "At least I got a date and don't have to steal other girls' like a slut."

Alex narrowed her eyes. Mandy was walking on a dangerous road. Anger was one of Alex's faults and when she lost it. She usually ended up in a mess…like she was going to do now.

"I was just keeping myself entertained until my date got here!" She blurted out without thinking. Anything to get this girl off her high horse. Cat and Jane looked at Alex. What was she getting herself into now? She was going to make a fool out of herself.

The smugness on Mandy's face came back. "Really? Then where is he?" Cat and Jane kept looking at Alex. Now what was she going to do?

Alex didn't let her face give anything away, but in the inside she was smacking herself. _Why the hell did I say that?! If I just had my wand I could probably come up with something. Damn! Now how am I going to get out of this! Where is Justin when you need- _That last thought that came out of nowhere was cut off when she felt an arm going around her shoulders. She followed the arm to the owner and her eyes widened for a second.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you!"

* * *

Joseph didn't say anything the whole ride. He had to admit, he'd thought Justin would have wanted to go straight home. He was a bit curious as to where they were going. By the looks of it, this was on the personal life territory, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was always good to know a little bit more about the people you work with. However, of all the places they could have ended up, he didn't expect this.

As they got out of the car Joseph looked at the building.

"Um, are we…crashing a prom?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Justin looked around and started heading towards the building. Joseph silently followed him and a small smirk appeared on his face as he saw Justin crouching a little and each step he took was almost completely silent as they neared the building just like he was doing. Joseph didn't think Justin knew he was doing it and was doing it unconsciously. His body was getting used to stealth. It was a high school prom after all. They weren't suppose to be there. They hid inside some bushes pressed against the wall and looked through the semi-big window. There were also a few trees near by so they were well covered.

Joseph looked inside and saw what he expected from a prom. Nothing out of the ordinary. So, the questions was, why were they here for? He looked at Justin and it seemed he had found what he was looking for. Joseph followed his gaze to a brunet that was dancing with a guy. His gaze went back to Justin.

"She your girl?" He asked, looking back at the girl.

"You could say that." Justin didn't take his eyes off Alex. "She's my-" Joseph pulled him down as the double doors near them opened.

It was just a guy going to his car to get something. When they were clear they went back to where they were. Justin went back to looking at the brunet and Joseph started thinking. He didn't know the situation between the brunet, that was now being dragged to the table by another girl, and Justin, but if it were him and the brunet was Lac…any girl that was with him, were dancing with another guy, he knew exactly what he would do. Joseph looked at Justin. He knew what he had to do. Joseph assessed the situation and formed a plan. This was going to be a little unorthodox, but…

Suddenly a couple came out from the doors. The girl didn't seem sober.

_Perfect._

While Joseph was preoccupied Justin was deep in his thoughts, so deep he didn't notice Joseph reaching behind him and pulling something out. Justin didn't know why he came here. He guessed it was to see that Alex was safe. Of course she was safe. She was Alex. She wasn't stupid…sometimes. She reminded him of that when she stopped her friend Cat from drinking the spiked punch. He was happy that she was having fun, but when she was dancing with that guy…

Something at the bottom of his stomach didn't like that she was a bit too close to him. That was weird. Maybe he was thinking about his dad and how he would feel about his little girl dancing like that. He was happy that she was happy. It was just…

His thoughts were stopped when a sound reached his ears. A sound he has become very familiar with tonight. He quickly snapped his head to where Joseph was. Justin's face went from confused to horrified. He looked at Joseph with his dart gun and then at the couple lying on the ground.

"Wha-what are you doing?!" He whispered as loud as he could.

"Hurry up and help me with them." Joseph responded as he went and dragged the unconscious girl back to the bushes they were in. Justin couldn't describe what he wanted to say to him, but complied nonetheless and dragged the guy to the bushes.

"Are you out of your mind?! Why did you shoot them?!" Joseph didn't bother answering and started taking the unconscious guy's jacket.

"Shooting at guards while we're trying to escape is one thing, but to shoot a random peo-" Joseph forcibly took Justin's black sweater off of him. Before Justin could start throwing a tantrum he reached for the jacket an cut him of.

"If you are going to go get your girl back, you'll need something to wear that won't give you away when you go in."

"My girl ba-no! She's…" Justin got distracted when he saw a group of girls talking to Alex and her friends. They didn't seem to be the friendly type. By the looks of it Alex was in trouble. He recognize that expression no matter how hidden it was. His-sister-is-in-trouble autopilot kick in. Justin grabbed the jacket Joseph was handing him and put it on. It was just his size. What luck. Joseph looked him over. Black jean pants that looked new, white shirt underneath the formal jacket.

It would have to do.

Justin looked at his new wardrobe and then a thought came to him. "Just because I'm wearing this doesn't mean I can get in without student ID. Every door probably has a teacher-"

There's that sound again.

"Will you stop shooting people!"

He had just shot at an adult that had come out from the same doors the couple had come from a few moments ago.

Joseph ignored him and went to get the body. Justin followed him.

"There's your way in. I'll wait here." Joseph said and dragged the body to the bushes.

Justin shook his head and went inside. He nervously looked around, expecting someone to catch him. When he saw he was clear he made his way to Alex. He didn't know what mess she had gotten herself in, but he'll deal…like always.

"Really? Then where is he?" That was all Justin heard the girl say to Alex with a really smug tone. He thought for a moment and hoped he was right about what this was about. He was the smart one for a reason. He walked up to Alex and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you!"

Alex looked at Justin's eyes with wide eyes for a second and then smirked, catching on.

"What took you?" She asked, wrapping her own arm around him.

His eyes flickered for a moment to their audience. "My car was running low on gas so I had to make a small pit stop." Alex's eyes lid up. Justin knew how to play. In high school, dating an older guy with a car equaled cool. Alex embraced him, turning her back to the seething girls and decided to rub it in.

"Did the teachers give you any trouble getting in?"

"Naw, just cause I'm twenty doesn't mean I'm going to be stopped by some teachers." They didn't need to know his real age. Justin was sure Alex's face was going to break from grinning so much.

Alex was satisfied when she saw Mandy's face and it felt like heaven. Cat and Jane seemed to have caught on and were also enjoying this. She looked back at Justin.

"Let's go dance." As they walked to the dance floor Justin had one arm around her waist and looked back at Cat and Jane.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her for me."

Cat turned to Mandy and her girls with her own satisfied smirk.

"Didn't you know? That's Alex's boyfriend. He has been out of town for a while."

While Cat continued to rub it in, Alex and Justin danced to keep appearance.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm so glad you are here." Alex said, relieved.

Justin smiled. "I knew I had to step in when I saw you getting into one of your messes." Alex's face became thoughtful. "Why are you here?" Now that she thought about it, it was strange that he came here of all places.

"I don't know." He thought about it. "I guess is just an old habit of thinking you were doing unsupervised…" He trailed of and looked at her own confusion. "Magic? You were going to say magic." It wasn't a question.

She frowned. "Why would you think I would start using magic again?" Justin didn't miss the slight hurt in her voice. It still was a sore subject between them.

"I…" He didn't know what to say. Neither of them said anything anymore for a few minutes. When a slow song started they both came out of their little worlds. Justin looked around.

"I better go. I don't think does girls are going to bother you anymore." But before he could leave Alex grabbed his hand. "Wait."

She didn't know why, but she didn't want him to leave. It just wouldn't feel the same anymore. Whatever came over her wanted him to stay. It felt nice to have him around again. It made her feel better knowing he was around if she needed him. Ever since they were on their own she didn't get this feeling anymore and she didn't know how much she had missed it. It was like she was cold and she didn't even noticed until the warmness came back. Justin looked at her, not understanding.

"I don't want Mandy and her drones to forget this. Besides, you need this more than I do. When was the last time you were somewhere social?" Justin was about to speak, but she cut him of. "I swear if you say work I'm going to smack you." He smiled sheepishly at her. She rolled her eyes and pulled him to her. With her hands on his shoulders and his on her waist, they let themselves relax to the music. After a few minutes the next slow song came. Alex didn't know how relaxing it was to dance like this. She sighed and moved her arm around his neck to make room for her head on his shoulder. The other arm naturally followed the other one without her notice. The strange thing was, she didn't notice anything weird about this and neither did the smart one. The music carried on and so did they.

"Do you ever miss it?" She spoke barely above a whisper with her eyes closed.

"Hm?" She felt the vibration from the sound he made.

"Magic." She clarified.

"Sometimes."

"Do you ever feel like using it again?" Justin didn't answer right away and tried to see her face, but couldn't from where he was.

"Do you want to use magic again Alex?" Now it was her turn not to answer. It seemed she was thinking about it, but couldn't get an answer herself. "I…I don't know." Their voices went silent.

"I know it's not who we are, but it still is a part of us and we can't just throw that away." Justin didn't respond. Alex didn't expect him to answer, but a small part did. Then a thought came to her. Every time it came she didn't even bother to think about it because of their non-use of magic unspoken rule, but now…

"Justin, what will happen to the wizard competition?" She asked. Justin sighed. "Alex, how should I know?" Alex smiled and half opened her eyes, but still had her head down. "Because you're mister know it all." Justin chuckled.

After a few more moments, a mischievous smile appeared on her, but of course he didn't see it. "You know, if we ever did magic again, we should find a way for both of us to keep our magic."

"Yeah right." She could feel him smiling, not believing her. Alex finally raised her head from his shoulder, but didn't take her arms from around his neck. She also was smiling. "What? You don't think we can do it? I'm sure if we put our heads together we could think of something." Justin looked at her skeptically. Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. It just something stupid some old dudes made up for some stupid reason." Justin tiredly smiled and shook his head, bringing her head back to his shoulder. A few minutes passed and he finally said something that made her smile.

"Maybe."

As prom neared its end people started leaving. Where were they going? Nowhere else, but the after parties. Time sure flew when they had danced through four dances without knowing. The lights of the place came on.

"We should probably get going soon." Alex said. Justin looked at her. "What, no after parties?" Alex yawned and shook her head.

"Not with the energy I have now." Justin nodded and was kind of relieved. He didn't want her out so late in one of those things. He was still her big brother after all.

"We should go then."

"Then it's a good thing I came." A voice said. They both looked at the person it came from. Justin inwardly groaned. He had completely forgotten who he had come with.

Alex looked at the guy over. "Who are you?"

Joseph smiled and extended his hand to her. "My name is Joseph. I…" His eyes flickered for a moment to Justin. "…work with Justin." Alex stared at him and then looked at Justin with wonder. "I didn't know you had friends at work."

"Oh, Justin I'm hurt." He said, playfully. Justin tried to smile. Now that this was over, he didn't know what in the world possess him to bring Joseph here where his sister was. One slip up from him and…

He didn't even want to think about it.

"Yeah. Joseph was my ride here." Justin said, while memories of what they did earlier came running back.

"Well, I guess he is our ride home then."

Joseph smiled. "Wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case."

Alex looked over at Justin. "I'm going to got to tell Cat and Jane I'm leaving with you."

Joseph pointed to the exit. "We'll be outside." Alex nodded and left to find her friends.

As they headed for the doors Joseph looked at Justin. "Everything went okay?"

"Yeah." Justin felt like he forgot about something, but couldn't remember what.

When they were outside Justin looked around at the people that came out and noticed everyone was oblivious to what was up against the wall inside the bushes. They really had to look to see what was behind them, but they were too busy leaving. Justin sighed in relief. He briefly looked over the bushes from where they were standing before turning back to the people leaving.

One second passed.

Two seconds passed and then he blinked. Justin sucked on his bottom lip and slowly turned his head back to the bushes. He was sure Joseph had shot the couple and a teacher. That would make three. So why…

"Joseph?" He called.

Joseph looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Why are there like fifteen bodies over there?"

Joseph looked over at the bushes and then back at Justin. "You sure you want to know?"

Justin stared at him for a few seconds and then sighed, slowly shaking his head. "No, I really don't."

Minutes later Alex came out and they started walking to Joseph's car.

"Sorry I took so long, but it seems a few teachers along with the principal are missing." Alex snorted. "Most be having a party of their own." When she wasn't looking Justin gave Joseph a pointed look. He just shrugged his shoulders.

When they got near his car he looked at Alex. "My car only has to seats. You'll have to seat on his lap."

"Well, if I have to then I guess I'll endure it." Justin rolled his eyes.

When they got inside Justin put his seatbelt and securely put his arm around her waist to use as her seatbelt. Alex didn't seem to mind or complained.

"You know where to go?" She asked.

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows a bit. "No. Should I?" How was he suppose to know where she lived?

There's that feeling again. Justin felt like he was forgetting something.

Alex thought for a moment. Justin never brought anyone to their apartment so he probably didn't know where they lived. She did the same thing with her friends. "No, I guess not. I'll tell you where to go."

When they arrived Alex got out and so did Justin, which surprised Joseph. "You live here too?" Alex looked confused.

"Yeah. Me and Justin live together." Joseph's surprised face lasted for a second before turning into a smirk. That's when Justin remembered.

He thought Alex was his girlfriend.

"Wai-"

"See you later." Before Justin could finish, he left.

Alex looked down the road Joseph left and then at Justin, who had his palms over his eyes. "What was that about?"

Justin sighed and moved his hands from eyes over his hair until they rested behind his neck. "Oh, nothing. He just now thinks I live with my girlfriend that's in high school."

Alex blinked. "Come again?"

Justin shook his head with his eyes closed and headed for the stairs to their second floor apartment. "Just one big headache."

Little did they know a headache wasn't the only thing that was going to come.

**-+-**

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**I was going to post this last night, but it wasn't so. Man did this turn out long. Don't you hate it when you start writing a chapter and it ends up long? (sigh) Well I hope you like it! Reviews are always good!**


	13. Chapter 13

**-+-**

**Blind Beginning**

**-+-**

A month and a half have passed and summer had rolled in. That only meant one thing for students, summer vacation, which that meant, no school, no homework, and most of all no responsibilities whatsoever. Now that varied from person to person. Some just sat back and enjoyed their summer. Some chose to work. And others plainly _had_ to work. Unfortunately, the last one was the one Alex fit in to. They had to pay the bills and they couldn't afford her not working. However, Alex, being one to never sit back and do nothing about something, was able to persuade Ricky into changing her schedule. Instead of working late afternoon she'd be working from nine in the morning to two. Now why did it matter if she worked in the morning or late afternoon was unknown to Justin. He did notice though how they both had free time in the late after noon since they gave him a 'raise' at his job at the warehouse and also minimized his hours. Alex was too happy and relieved for Justin to find how…strange that was.

It was late Saturday morning and Alex was peacefully sleeping since she didn't have to work. It was another perk about summer. Ricky didn't like Alex wasting her summer working and made sure she didn't work weekends. While she slept Justin was at the antique shop. He wasn't exactly working per say. He was sitting on the couch working on something important.

"Done." He said. Ralph came from the maze of shelves and looked at what was on Justin's lap.

"What you got there?" He asked, looking at the wrapped present.

"A present I got Alex for actually attending all her class and finishing her junior year." Ralph raised an eyebrow.

"You say it like she cuts school everyday?"

Justin looked down at the present. "You have no idea." He murmured.

In hour later Justin could barely contain his excitement. He hadn't stopped moving since he finish wrapping the gift. Ralph smiled.

"Just go." Justin looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Ralph nodded. "I'm sure. Go."

"Thank you!" Justin said right before he flew out the door, making Ralph chuckled.

It was almost one when Justin got home. He quickly went through the apartment to the bedroom. Right as he was about to open the bedroom door he remembered his other gift. He opened the closet and got it. When he opened the her door, he found Alex where he left her in the morning. He walked over to her side and shook her shoulder.

"Alex." Nothing. He tried again and….this really has to stop. She was real heavy sleeper.

"Alex." He called louder and shook her harder. That worked, but it startled her. She quickly sat up and shot her fist at him. His body moved on its own and dodged it. He didn't even know what happen until it was over. Justin's eyes quickly went to Alex to see if she noticed anything, but she was still groggy. He was relieved that she didn't see that. Those lessons Zack was giving him were really sinking in.

"Justin?" She yawned. "Why did you wake me up?" She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Other than it's afternoon, I wanted to gave you something." He said.

"What is it?" She asked, trying to fully wake up. A small smile came to him.

"Presents." Now she was all awake.

Her eyes lit up. "Well, I'm always good for those. Give me." She extended her arms to him. Why question when someone wants to give you presents? That's her logic. Both his arms were behind his back and drew out his right arm. Alex had a full blown smile as she saw the wrapped present and hastily took it. She started ripping the paper apart.

"Alex save th-"

"Ssh." She quieted him down. "My present." She whispered. When she was done her smile left. This was so Justin. "A book?" Alex asked holding the book with a raised eyebrow.

"Just read the cover." He should have really expected that.

"The wonders of wandless magic?" She frowned. "Where you get this? A kid's store?" He rolled his eyes. This is what he gets for being nice. He looked at her and saw it wasn't coming to her yet. He should have given her the second one first. He withdrew his left hand from his back and left it on top of the book.

When she saw what it was, all emotions left her face. Alex stared at the object for what felt like in hour. She slowly reached for it. "Justin." She was a having a bit of trouble speaking. "Wh-why are you giving me this?" She asked, looking up at him.

Justin went down to his knees beside the bed and covered her hand that was holding her wand with his own. The wand had a bow tied at the middle.

"Alex, I know how hard it's been since dad and mom died. It's been hard on you", he paused, "and it's been hard on me, but I know mom and dad wouldn't want us to forget where we came from. Our past…" This was really hard. All he has been trying to do was to move on and forget everything, but he knew he couldn't run from this. This was important to her. "…our past will always be there. It made us who we are and we shouldn't forget that."

Alex had her head cast down and couldn't see her face. She was having a hard time with this just as he was. He sat on the bed and hugged her tightly. They didn't move and didn't talk for about a minute. "I know you love magic and I know you've missed it." He softly ended and silence remained.

"You're such a dork." She quietly said to his ear and he chuckled.

Justin pulled back and looked down at the book. "I thought it would give you something to do during the summer since Jane is going away with her parents for the summer and Cat has summer school."

"And you gave me this?" Alex gave him a look. "You have no idea how much of a struggle it is for me to do so well in school. It's taking all my will not to run for the hills and scream. Why would I waste my summer reading this." She said, holding up the book.

"I thought you missed learning magic?"

"Learning magic for my own gain, yes. Learning magic in general, no." Justin rolled his eyes. "I should've known." He watched as Alex took off the bow from her wand and got an idea.

"Did I forget to tell you that only high level wizards do wandless magic." It didn't surprise him that it drew her attention somewhat, but this would completely. "Imagine all the things you will be able to do without a wand. It would be very convenient for you, and the best part, you won't have to carry it everywhere you go."

That did it.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a look or two." Justin smiled and stood up. "I'll be back in two or three hours." He said as he walked to the door.

"Wait!" He heard her say and looked back. "Are you…" She didn't know how he felt about this, but she had to ask. "…are you going to practice with me when you come back?" She asked with a soft expression. "You know….like old times."

Justin thought about it while looking at her and then smiled. "Sure."

Zack's lessons were moving at a steady pace. After hand movements and combinations, Zack moved Justin to kicks. Let's just say Justin would have rather stayed with punching because all these kicks were very exhausting! Front kick, side kick, back kick, over and over. It was completely tiring. What was worse, they were only the basic ones! He didn't think he would be able to walk ever again. That's why Justin found himself sprawled on the ground breathing heavily and sweating like never before.

"Justin, really? You're already done?" Zack said, standing over him. "We've only been at it for thirty minutes." And the only reason he lasted that long was because of Kate's stamina runs.

Zack scratched his head and sighed. "If you are going to be on the ground at least stretch." Oh, yes, stretching. Another important thing when it came to kicking. The more flexible you were, the higher and easier you kicked. It was just another pain. Justin tried to regain his breathing and sat up.

"If this is going to be a regular thing I would've been against you cutting your hours here." He watched as Justin was trying to reach his foot, but couldn't quite reach and sighed. "Why are you coming here for only a few hours now?"

Joseph hid his smile behind his magazine he was reading. He was sitting on a couch with Lacey, facing Justin and Zack. She, like usual, was reading a magazine with her feet resting on Joseph's lap.

"Oh, he just wants to enjoy his _summer_." Justin stopped moving for a second. He knew that tone all too well. "It's a nice time for a _vacation_. Just like back in high school. I mean that's what he said when we went out after we did the job at the museum. Right Justin?" Justin glared as he stretched. Joseph hadn't said anything about the whole prom event since it happened. He had never brought it up and Justin hoped he wouldn't. As long as Joseph didn't say anything there was no need to bring it up. It was better if he didn't correct him about Alex and risk bringing up the subject. He thought it was better that way…until now. It seemed Joseph was not going to stay quiet anymore.

Justin continued to glared, but kept looking straight so they wouldn't see it. He also tried to keep the irritation from his voice. "Is a nice time of year. Why waste it being indoors?"

Joseph smirked while still hiding his face. "Yeah, why stay inside when you can go out and play a few sports. You can even use the fields in the high schools." His smirk grew even more. "Hey, you might even find a girl to…cheer for you." Now he was just plain grinning. "And maybe afterwards you could use those big showers to score out of the field too." Justin's eyes seemed like they were about to jump out of their sockets while Zack and Lacey looked between Justin and Joseph. After seeing Justin's gaping mouth for a bit, Lacey went back to her reading. She'll find out later.

Justin's glare came back and shot daggers at Joseph. Two can play this game.

"Oh, no. I think you did enough _scoring_ for the both of us with those girls we met at the club after we were done at the museum." Justin said, smirking.

Joseph's grin was wiped of his face as he froze behind his magazine and his eyes widened. He immediately felt Lacey become tense. He couldn't see her face because of her magazine, but before he could say anything she stood up and walked away. He looked over at Justin who was smiling. His eyes clearly said, 'that's what you get for messing with me'. He quickly turned around and went after Lacey. He and Lacey weren't like..._that_, but…he didn't want her to think that…he…and some other…damm it!

Zack chuckled and high fived Justin. "Nice."

When Justin came home, he wasn't surprised finding Alex sleeping on the couch with the book open on her face. He wondered how long it took her to fall asleep. He bet she didn't even get pass the second page.

"Alex, wake up." He said, grabbing the book. Surprisingly she woke up. She yawed and sat up. "You're back already?" She asked rubbing her eyes.

"You said you wanted to learn magic again than let's get started." He said, putting his finger on his chin and started thinking. "We should probably get a few sheets of paper and pencils."

Alex looked at him like he was crazy. "Uh, how about no. Just because I want to do magic again doesn't mean I want you to go teacher-mental on me." She stretched and walked over to him. She seemed a bit irritated. "By the way, you forgot to mention how hard wandless magic was!"

"I told you. Only high level wizards use it. There is a reason for that." Alex crossed her arms and walked to the table. "Well, it's a real pain. I couldn't even do a simple spell." That's when Justin noticed the open book of spells on the table with her wand on it. She must've gotten it from the closet.

"That's because without a wand your magic has nowhere to focus on. Now you have to focus your magic inside you before letting it out, instead focusing it outside in your wand. Just like spells, wands are like training wheels. Training wheels that daily wizards stay with their whole lives." Alex stopped looking at the book on the table and looked at him. "Then why are we learning this?"

"It's true that our wizard training doesn't require that we learn wandless magic unless we make a career out of it, but…" He stared at her for a moment. "I'm going to place myself in that head of yours for a moment and, how you would say, it would be very cool to mess with people needing a wand."

Alex smiled. "Just checking that you knew." She said, turning back to the book on the table. "While you were gone I found this interesting spell before I fell asleep and I think it would be very useful if I didn't have to use my wand."

"Alex, you do know you can't learn this over night. It's going to take-"

"Yeah, yeah, just come here and look at this." She said, waving her arm. Justin sighed and walked to the table. When he saw the spell she was referring to, he was a bit confused as to why he didn't know that spell, until he remembered. He remembered coming across it once, but didn't bother learning it because of how flawed it was.

Justin rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I'm sorry to say this Alex, but that spell is pretty much a waste of time to learn." Alex looked from the book on the table to Justin with a pout. "Why?"

"For one, it takes an incredible amount of focus. Even more than wandless magic. And if for some miracle you're actually able to pull it off, it will drain you completely with one use. Third, I don't even know what you could use it for. Maybe for moving big things I guess, but then you could just use the simple levitation spell instead." When he was done with his mini monologue that was mostly for himself because Alex wasn't paying much attention, he looked at her. "Why would you use it anyway? It's so physical, and brute, and violent and…" He looked at her innocent, pouting face she was making with the usual mischief behind her eyes that he knew so well. "…and…and I see why you would like it." He said and shook his head. "But like I said. You need lots and lots of focus, which is something you don't have."

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, I might surprise you." Justin gave her skeptical look.

"Who knows, once we learn wandless magic I might be able to do it." She added.

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Confident aren't we." Alex smiled.

"Yeah, and you know why?" Justin looked a bit confuse. "Why?"

Her expression slowly changed into a soft, caring smile. "Because, as much as I hate to say it, when we do things together, somehow, it always turns out alright." She said, looking into his eyes.

A smile slowly grew on his face. He raised his arm and lightly touched the side of her arm. "Thanks." He said. He slowly started brushing her soft skin with his thumb. Alex kept smiling and faintly hit his stomach with her free hand and left it there. Instead, of removing their hands from the other, they left them where they were as they looked at one another.

And that's when the touches began.

**-+-**

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**You know, for an insane moment I actually missed school. Now I remember why I hate it. If I ever say I miss school again, please someone shoot me! (sigh) Back to the story. I think now would be a good time for time to get moving...Wow that sounded way better in my head. But don't worry I'm not going to skip the actual romance part. I wouldn't do that to you guys. Reviews please.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Learned Rules**

Justin peacefully slept on his couch without much care. His face was surprisingly serene compared to the first months since his family died. He no longer seemed to be haunted in his dreams. The disturbances rarely came now a days. He looked more like a guy his age should, especially when his bangs almost reached his eyes now. That's what the figure standing a few feet away thought. The figure stopped observing him and then grinned. It's always good to be silent before striking. The next few seconds came with water splashing all over Justin's face.

He instantly sat up.

"Life jackets!" He said as he quickly looked every direction. He stopped when he spotted Alex barely containing her laughter and holding a mostly empty glass of water.

Justin covered his wet face with his hands. "Oh, god what time is it?"

"Early?" She said, smiling as Justin wiped his face with his hands. When he was done he looked at the time and groaned.

"Alex, I wasn't suppose to wake up for another hour! What's wrong with you? Why did you wake me up?" Justin's voice was exhausted and irritated.

"To practice?"

Justin glared, his eyes fixed on her face. "We don't practice in the morning!"

"Oh, my bad." She said, smirking without any guilt. He groaned again and closed his eyes. He rested his head on his hand with his elbow on the couch arm.

"Hey, Justin?" She called. Justin opened his eyes and looked back at her. What did she do? She splashed the rest of the water on his face. This time she didn't try to hold back and laughed. Justin stared at her with an annoyed look. The way she was laughing at him and the mischief her eyes held. Oh, yeah, the old Alex had definitely returned. She had not only come back, but there was also a small new part of her that time had brought a bit prematurely, maturity…Okay, well, Alex's version of maturity. It wasn't much, but he'll take what he can get as long as it was still Alex. However, back to the current situation. If he was going to be wet than so was she.

Justin grabbed her by her waist with both hands and pulled her closed to him with only an inch of space between his face and her stomach. One hand let go of her and grabbed the hem of her shirt. Alex saw what he was going to do.

"Justin, don't!" She tried to pull his hand from her waist. Before she could step out of reach, he lifted her shirt and used as a towel for his face.

"Justin!" She snatched her shirt back and lifted it up to look at the damage. "Look at what you did. Now I have to change." She whined. Justin smiled up at her in victory and then his eyes dropped in front of him to her exposed skin. He stared for a few unnecessary seconds before standing up and lightly smacking her shirtless stomach with the back of his hand as he went to find a towel.

"Then go."

While Alex went to get a change of shirts, Justin made himself some cereal. If you could have seen him in the past and now, you would have notice he no longer looked tired all the time and stressed out. That probably had to do with his 'second job'. It's been a while since he'd joined his group and over time he has saved quite some money. Of course he didn't use any of it. All that money he was saving was going to be for Alex's future. Another reason why he didn't use it was because how could he explain to Alex where all the money came all of a sudden. Besides, college wasn't too far away for Alex and she would be out of this tiny place. He would just tell her he got a loan or something. Finance was not her strong suit.

When Alex came out she shook her shoulder length hair from the few tangles she got from changing shirts. While Justin let his hair grow a little, she went and got hers cut. She got her things and they left to their usual walk to school/work.

"You finished your paper for your English class yesterday right?" Justin asked as they walked.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yes, _dad_. I went to the library before going to work to print it." Alex shuttered at the word 'library'. It was even worse remembering that she actually went inside one.

"Hey, I just want you to get a good grade like your last paper."

"Ooh ooh, can I get ice cream when you see how good I did?" She said like a five year old to annoy him. She grabbed his arm and started tugging it as she jumped a little for affect.

Justin ignored her, but had the strong urge to roll his eyes.

She dropped his arm after a bit.

"Dork."

Even though she let go of him their arms would occasionally brush against each other without being aware of it. When they neared her school the kids were already gathered around the front.

"Alright, I'll see you later." Justin looked at the students talking and then at Alex as she turned around to leave. "And don't use magic."

"Yeah, yeah." She said, rolling her eyes as she started to walk. He lightly slapped her behind as she walked away for that retort. Alex continued to walk as if nothing happened. The strange thing here was that if any other guy had done that, Alex would have made sure they had ended up with a bloody nose.

Nothing much had changed at the antique store. The place was still a bit messy and still felt comfortable. Justin still read all the books he could in his spare time and they all weren't _normal_ books. When Ralph wasn't around, or too busy, he read some magic books he had or found. After all, who else was going to teach Alex magic. She couldn't learn by just reading like he could. She needed a bit of guidance when doing a spell or she would screw it up. However, that was becoming less common little by little.

Justin looked at the time and it was almost time for his shift to be over. He was just closing the book he was currently reading as Ralph came and it looked like he was panting a little.

"Justin, there is a box up in the attic full of books you like to read. They been here for years and I thought you should have them if you like." Ralph said.

Justin became excited hearing that. "Really? I you sure?"

Ralph chuckled. "Yeah, they've just been collecting dust up there."

"Thanks!" Justin said, running up to the attic.

Ralph wanted to say something, but he had already ran of. He smiled and shook his head. That box filled with books was very heavy from firsthand experience a few moments ago. He was going to have to take a few books at a time. What did he think he's going to do? Did he think he is going to-?

"There really are a lot of books in here." Ralph's mouth slightly hanged opened as he watched Justin carry the heavy box down the stairs.

"Isn't it a little heavy?" He asked. When he first met the boy he sure had a nice physic, but now it seemed he gained a little more muscle.

"Yeah, it's a little heavy, but I can manage. I'll see you tomorrow." Justin said as he left through the door.

Alex, Cat, and Jane were at their usual spot waiting to get picked up. Like usual they were talking, but the topic of conversation was heading somewhere Alex didn't like.

"Jane will you calm down. I'm sure you'll hear soon from the many universities you applied to." Cat said.

"But it has been taking a while now. What if something happened? What if-?" Alex cut Jane from her soon to be rant.

"Jane, you're a smart girl. They would be crazy not to let you in." She tried to reassure her. While Jane finally started to calm down Cat looked at Alex.

"What about you?" She asked.

"What about me?" Alex asked with her eyes dropped a little, not having any interest in the subject.

"You're a smart girl. Why haven't you applied to any universities yet?" Cat asked.

Alex stared at her for a few seconds with a blank expression before she turned to look at the other kids hanging around the school. "Who says I'm trying to get into one?"

A small frown appeared on Cat's face. "You mean you're not going to a university?"

Alex looked back at them like there was nothing wrong. "No."

Jane also began to frown. "But why? Is it because of money problems? Alex with your grades-" Alex cut Jane from finishing.

"It's not that!" She raised her voiced without meaning to. Alex looked at their startled faces and looked away. They didn't say anything for a moment before Alex looked back at them with the same expressionless face she had before. "It's not that." She repeated a little quieter. She was partially lying. The financial part held some truth, but that wasn't her main reason.

They didn't bring the subject up again, and even if they wanted to they would have been interrupted.

"Hello ladies…and Alex." A voice came from behind them. They turned around to see Justin carrying what looked like a heavy box in front of him. Cat and Jane greeted him as Alex looked at the box.

"What's with the box?" She asked.

"It's a gift from Ralph." He said.

Alex looked closely and leaned on Justin's arm, nearly making him drop the box. Justin made a gasping noise from the sudden extra weight and glared at her. She peered inside through a small opening. "Oh, jeez the dorkness inside you has come back with a vengeance."

"There is nothing wrong with a little reading." Justin said, defensively. They apparently had fallen back into their old rhythm. It wasn't just Alex who was starting to act like her old self.

"Little? When it comes to books your definition of little is the size of the sky." Alex finally stopped leaning on Justin's tormented arm. Cat and Jane just let things run their natural course. They were already used to this. The more time they spent with Alex and Justin together the more they learned how things worked between them. When Jane and Cat left after saying their goodbyes, Justin and Alex got ready to leave. Alex looked down at the box Justin had put down during their argument and then at her nails.

"How did you carry it all the way here anyway? Don't tell me a weakling like you actually carried it with your bare hands." Alex stopped looking at her nails and saw as Justin lifted the box onto his shoulder this time.

"I'm not as weak as you think." Alex stared at him for a few seconds and then started to walk. As they walked she took a subtle side glance at Justin. Her gaze went to his arm as it flexed from holding the heavy box in place. She stared for a few seconds before looking back in front of her. Justin didn't want to admit it, but the box was kind of heavy. He didn't know why, but he didn't want her to notice that.

After leaving Alex, Justin headed where he usually went at this time. He was on his way there when he received a text message. He looked at it before walking again, but going on a different direction. The Sun Point location was the place he preferred over the usual hangout. It had a nice view of the city and a good place to see the sunset. It was not a place he would forget, specially because that's the place he'd first met the guys. The stairs to the roof were sure a killer though. When he opened the door he noticed everyone was already there.

"Justin! Thank god you're here! Please take over the barbeque. I cannot take anymore burnt food!" Gabriel said as he stood next to the barbeque where an annoyed Zack was.

"It's not burnt! You just can't take well cooked meat!" Zack exclaimed.

Justin sighed and made his way over to them. He noticed everyone was here except for Ray. Joseph and Lacey were on the small, old couch talking and Chase was reading a book on the other couch with Kate trying to talk to him. It was very hard to ignorer Kate, even for Chase. She was a nice girl, but she had way too much energy.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Justin couldn't help, but smile a little. The word 'friends' was the last thing he wanted to use to describe these guys because of his beliefs for the law. As he looked around he remembered what he realized some time ago. No matter how much he thought of the wrong things they did, they were still good inside. At times likes these those thoughts made themselves known and it made it easier for him to admit the truth.

He had forgotten how nice it felt to have friends again.

"Let me see what I can do." He said as he took over the grill.

The dying, orange sunset signaled the end of the day. After eating and doing other regular things friends did, everyone sat around the barrel they used as a fireplace ready to end the day. Joseph stared at the fire before looking up at everyone.

"Well guys it's the end of the day and I guess it's time I told you the news." Everyone gave him all their attention.

"It's about Ray." Lacey said more than asked. Joseph nodded.

"What about Ray? Where is he anyway?" Kate asked.

Joseph looked around at everyone before setting his eyes back on the fire.

"Ray won't be joining us anymore." Shock was apparent on everyone's face, except for Lacey's as she put the pieces together earlier.

"He left?" Chase asked.

"That's what he decided." Joseph responded.

Zack snorted. "Well, so much for that guy."

Joseph slightly glared. "You guys know the rules. Anyone is free to leave anytime time they want as long as they don't rat on the group or anyone in it. Everyone joined because they needed something. We don't ask the reasons for it, but we do ask for trust. That's the most important thing."

Justin looked down at the fire. He knew of the rules. They told him he could leave anytime he wanted. If he needed something, they would get it if he asked, and in return he would do the same. The first thing Joseph told him when he officially joined was that all he wanted was trust.

"Ray decided he no longer needed to do this and we should respect his decision." Joseph said.

Everyone stayed silent.

Zack crossed his arms. "Still, he could have at least said goodbye." He said.

Gabriel smiled. "You know that guy doesn't do well with goodbyes."

"That's true." Zack responded.

"Aw, I'm going to miss him." Kate said.

"Yeah, he was a nice guy." Chase said.

"Well," Joseph stood up and headed for the door. "the world must go on. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Everyone started to leave until Justin was the only one left. He stared at the fire before putting it out and left. Nothing lasts forever, he knew that. He also knew he was going to miss Ray. What he didn't know was how long this was going to last…

…and wondered when would it be his turn.

"Magic is powerful energy that makes a wizard a wizard. However, just having magic is not good enough. To be a good wizard you have to have control over your own magic. Such power as magic should be difficult when releasing huge amounts of it and that's why wizards created wands. Wands are to control magic when released and to not use wands is very difficult. That's why if you are not going to use wands you need concentration to have control…control…Alex control!"

Justin barely ended his speech in time to duck as plate came straight at him and smashed against the wall. Justin uncovered his head and looked behind him at the broken plate. He glared at Alex an stood back up. "What part of concentration and control didn't you understand?" Justin's voice held to an exasperated tone.

Alex rolled her eyes and looked at him with disinterest. "Maybe if you stopped babbling on I might be able to _concentrate._" She said using air quotes.

Justin sighed and looked down at the shattered plate. "If this keeps up we're going to run out of plates." Alex looked at the plate too.

"Yeah, we probably will." She thought for a moment and got an idea. "Let's us try something else for the levitating spell." He didn't like the look she had and he knew he was going to regret this later. "And use what?"

Alex walked over to the small kitchen pot they had used to make some sauce for dinner earlier, which there was still some there. She looked at him with a smile/smirk. "We have done solid things for a while. Let's switch it up a little."

He knew he shouldn't have asked.

"No, no, and no." Alex rolled her eyes. Yeah, like she was going to listen to him. She extended her hand to the pot and murmured the spell.

"Alex." Justin warned.

Really? He should know better by now.

At first nothing happened, but Alex had a look of pure concentration. Now this was a rare sight to anyone that knew her in the past, but if _the_ Alex had to concentrate…at all, than you knew wandless magic was very hard. She slowly raised her extended arm and amazingly the sauce inside the pot rose as well. Justin slowly made his way to her, keeping his eyes on the flying sauce. Alex carefully walked away from the stove as she levitated the sauce a little over her head. She smiled with triumph and looked over at Justin. "See? What I tell ya?" Justin kept looking at the sauce with his hands up as if trying to calm her. "Okay, you did it. Can you put it back into the pot now?"

Alex smirked at the expression he had. "What, you afraid it's going to bite you?"

"No, but can you carefully go put it back." He said, nervously as he saw the sauce squirm for a second. "Dude, you need to calm down." She said, not noticing anything.

The sauce started squirming more and for longer periods of time.

"Alex."

"What?" It started squirming more out of control.

"Put it back!"

"There is no need to yell. Why are you so hyped-up?" It was getting very of out control, but she didn't notice because she was looking at him.

"Because I'm afraid it's going to-!"

As if a bomb went off inside it, the sauce went flying everywhere. For such a small pot it sure had a lot of sauce in it. The sauce was splattered a little on the living room, but it mostly was on the siblings. Alex wiped her eyes and took a look around. "Well that could have gone better."

Justin wiped his face with his hand and looked at her. "You think?" He walked over to the kitchen and got a dish towel to clean himself. Alex followed and got her own.

"This is why I like to stick with solid objects when it comes to levitation." He said as he cleaned himself. Alex furrowed her eyebrows as she also cleaned herself. "Oh, don't give me that."

"I bet the other spell wouldn't give me this much trouble." She murmured as she wiped her arms. Justin sighed. "You're still going on about that? I told you that spell is useless if you know the levitation spell."

Alex turned to look at him. "Have you tried it?"

"I don't need to." He said, looking at her. He spotted a stain she missed near the back of her neck. "You missed some." He pointed at his own neck to show her. She wiped her neck where she thought it was, but she still didn't get it. "Here." He gently wiped the remaining sauce on her neck. Seeing there was more he used his other hand to go around her head to lift her hair a little. As he cleaned her, he couldn't help, but stare at her smooth skin. There was this weird feeling that suddenly came, but he ignored it. Alex noticed his stare on her exposed skin and saw his eyes were a bit unfocused. It made her feel…something. His movements slowed down a bit. She stared at him for a few seconds, studying his face, before slowly tilting her head to give him more access. The movement made him snap out of his little daze and began cleaning at normal speed again. His eyes flicker to hers, but they were looking somewhere else. After he was done he slowly brought his hand down. Alex brought her head back, but kept looking somewhere else.

Justin stood where he was and Alex walked over to the sink. Strangely things got quiet. She looked at the dirty towel, absorbed in her own thoughts, and then dropped it on the sink. Since when was she so much into thinking anyway?

"Justin." Alex said with her back still turned to him. Justin stood still, not quite sure what to say. She turned around and walk to the small hall. "I'm going to take a shower first."

A lot of things were trying to sort themselves out in his head, like what was that all about earlier and-wait. He quickly turned around towards the hall. She was going to take all the hot water!

"Alex!"

Alex smiled in satisfaction, hearing her brother's shout.

* * *

**I feel like it's been awhile since the last time I updated...which it's true. What can I say? It's summer and that brings my laziest moments. On the other hand I was going to post this chapter two weeks ago, but I had no internet that entire time. That really sucks though. I was finally going to update and my internet goes away. Talk about timing. I am really sorry for the wait though, but not everything is bad news. During this time I have found myself a beta. His name is WyldCard4 and he has written a few stories himself. He read both my stories and since he liked them he was kind enough to become my beta. I'm always up for trying new things so I'm going to give this a try. This is my first chapter with him and so far we're doing good. It has been awhile though. I had to re-read my story to get back into the story's mood for this chapter. Same thing I do when reading someone else's story and haven't updated in a while...Not that I'm telling you to do that. I mean if you want to you could to get back into the story, but...um...now I feel like I'm making you guys do that...I'm going to stop talking now...yeah. It's late, I'm tired, I'm going to bed.**

**If I still have people reading this, well then I really like you guys. haha.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Exhausting Heat**

It was a quiet night at the Brooklyn docks. The only sound that could be heard was the falling rain against the water and concrete. The silence around the deserted area didn't last as a vehicle approached the docks. The car came to a stop, but no one came out. The headlights suddenly turned off as the rain kept pouring down. Silence once again enveloped the docks. Half an hour later another car came and like the other car it stopped meters away. The car that just arrived waited a few minutes and flickered its lights. Seeing the signal the people in the other car stepped out. Four came out, wearing familiar black hooded sweaters. As they walked towards the middle, the people in the other car came out. One of the four men that just came out had a suit case. When they all met in the middle they exchanged looks.

"Hello, _Charlie_." One of the men said, knowing the likelihood of that actually being his name.

Joseph smiled. "Nice to see you too Kev."

The man named Kev smirked. "What are the chances of you giving me your real name?"

"Come on, you know I don't do names." Joseph said with a smile. Kev didn't lose his smirk as he examined Joseph's group. Along side Joseph, their body language told him they were pretty relaxed, but not _too_ much considering the situation. They weren't novices after all. His eyed fixed on the fourth guy at the far end near the ocean. He must've been a new guy because he stuck out with his rigid composure. His smirk grew a little wider when the guy froze when he saw him staring at him.

"Did you bring the money?" Joseph asked, even though he already saw the briefcase. He just wanted to get his attention back.

"Of course. Have I ever not come through for you." He said.

"Your boss has. You on the other hand…" Joseph stared at him.

"Suspicious as always. You never change."

"Neither do you. Now where's my money?"

"Where are our diamonds?" Kev asked, staring at Joseph. They stared each other down through the rain until Joseph smiled lazy.

"Okay, we're going to get nowhere like this." Joseph reached behind him and took out a small black bag. The four man tensed when they saw him reaching behind him, but relaxed when they saw the bag. He took one diamond out to show Kev and held it up.

"Can you let us see our money?" He asked, putting the diamond back.

Kev looked at the bag in Joseph's hand and then turned to the man that had the briefcase. Kev got the briefcase and opened it to show the money, but not enough that it would get wet. "Satisfied?" He asked and then closed it. "The bag?" Kev extended his arm.

"Now now, you know how I do things Kev." He said, motioning to the briefcase he was holding. "Same time."

Kev stepped forward as Joseph and they both exchanged the briefcase and bag. Once Joseph got the briefcase he turned around and started walking towards the car with the others following. He didn't like to linger when there was no need to.

The whole time they were there Justin couldn't have been more tense. This wasn't his first exchange, he had a few before this, but he still couldn't get used to it. His paranoid self kept thinking the police would show up any moment even though they were very careful. He couldn't help, but take a small breather when he saw Joseph get the briefcase and started walking towards the car.

"Hold it!" They all stop dead n their tracks, hearing the booming voice. Justin heart started beating faster as the tension got even worse. They saw as Kev looked closer inside the bag and narrowed his eyes. "Where's the rest of them?"

Justin wanted to look at Joseph, but didn't dare look away from Kev.

"That's all of it. There wasn't anything more." Joseph answered.

Kev glared at him and put the bag away. "Wrong answer." Just as he said that, he took out his gun along with the rest of his men.

"Shit." Joseph said as the first shot was fired. "Everyone in the car!" He shouted as he took out his own gun and started shooting back. Chase and Zack also had their own guns and shot back too as they tried to get back to car.

Joseph saw Justin wasn't moving. He was frozen in place, wide-eyed in terror. "Ju-" The gunfire nearly missed him and didn't let him call out. Joseph crouched while shooting trying to not get hit. "Damn it."

Kev was shooting at Joseph when he noticed the new guy just standing there. He took his aim off Joseph and aimed at Justin. Joseph saw this, but was too busy shooting to do much.

Justin could practically hear his heart beating loudly as everything went in slow motion. He saw Kev taking aim at him, but couldn't move. His breathing picked up just as his heart pounded. All he wanted was to run, but his body didn't listen. He couldn't think let alone use magic or the gun he had. All he could concentrate on was the loud 'bang' emitting from Kev's gun as the bullet came flying at him. He heard something in the background, someone yelling something, but couldn't make it out. All of a sudden he felt strong pressure on his side for an instant and the next thing he knew he was engulfed in water.

Zack and Chase continued to shoot as they reached to car. They opened the passenger and driver doors and used them to take cover. Kev's men also used their own car as cover. Chase saw Kev aiming at Justin while Joseph was trying to get to him. Chase shot at the men who were shooting at Joseph and made them take cover. Joseph saw the opening and ran.

"Move!" Joseph yelled trying to snap Justin out of it. Kev took his shot just as Joseph jumped and kicked Justin in the side, pushing him into the water. The bullet missed Justin, but it grazed Joseph's leg that he used to kick Justin. He wasn't able to land on his feet, but kept on shooting when he hit the ground.

Kev yelled as he got hit on the arm. His men got in the car and gave him cover to recover. "Kev, let's get out of here! The police will be here any minute!" The man on the driver seat shouted. Kev shot back with his good arm as he retreated to the car.

Everything calmed down once the sound of their tires screeched far on street as they got away. Zack and Chase quickly went to help Joseph. Joseph took the time to take a breather as he heard them coming. The rain oddly felt nice as it came down on him.

"You alright?" Zack asked as he checked him. He stopped at his leg and crouched low to check it.

"I'm alright just a flesh wound." He said from where he was sitting and then turned to looked towards the water. "Someone go get him."

Chase walked over to the water and saw Justin grabbing on the edge while coughing up water. Chase couched down and rested his elbows on his legs, looking at Justin.

"Have a nice swim?" Chase had a small smirk as Justin got some air n his lungs. When he finished coughing Chase helped him out of the water. They walked over to where the others were just as Zack helped Joseph stand up.

"Let's go before it gets very crowded." He said. Using Zack's help he got into the car followed by Chase, who picked up the fallen briefcase, and Justin and drove off.

With Zack and Chase in front Justin was stuck in the back with Joseph filled with guilt. Once the adrenaline went away, Justin was finally able to think and realized what happened because of him. He looked down at Joseph's leg and the guilt surfaced.

"I'm so sorry." Justin said.

Joseph snapped out of his train of thought and looked at Justin. He saw Justin looking at his leg with his face full of remorse. Joseph smiled remembering who he was dealing with.

"Don't worry about it. I knew the risks when I brought you here." He said.

"How can you say that? You could have died because of me!" Justin said, incredulously.

Joseph looked at him with a dull look like he was bored. "It was your first gun fight and you didn't die. That's says a lot don't you think?" He finished with a smile similar to Lacey's.

"All you should be worried about is getting home and change before you get a cold." Joseph turned and looked out the window. A smirk appeared on his face. "I'm sure someone at home will warm you up."

Justin still couldn't believe he was taking this so lightly. It did help a little, knowing that Joseph didn't blame him. He was right though, they were alive and that was all that matter.

Alex groaned as the sun's light woke her up from her sweet sleep. Morning was just a reminder that she had school and needed to get ready. Alex buried her face on her pillow trying to shut out the light. She groaned again knowing she had to get up. Resigning, she looked over at her clock to see what time it was and immediately shot up from bed.

"_It's almost eleven! Why didn't Justin wake me up!" _Alex thought as she hurried to the bathroom. She finished washing herself in record time and practically flew back to her room. When she was done throwing clothes at herself, she angrily walked to the living room with her backpack ready to leave. Alex was definitely not in a good mood. Why didn't Justin wake her up before he left? Didn't he see her alarm didn't work?

She was heading for the door when she noticed something or rather someone on the couch. Her anger quickly changed to confusion when she saw her brother still sleeping. It was strange because Justin _never_ over slept. That was her thing…if she didn't have an alarm. As she walked over to him she couldn't help, but smirk, knowing she had something over him now. The moment she shook him and didn't wake up she knew something wasn't right. She was the heavy sleeper not him.

"Justin?" Alex took a closer look and noticed light sweat on him. She knelt down beside him and touched his forehead. It took her less than a second to withdraw her hand. He was burning up.

"Justin, wake up." She shook him harder this time. Justin groaned from the sudden movement. He tiredly opened his eyes and looked at Alex.

"What time is it?" He asked, groggily.

"A little after eleven." She answered.

That made him more lively. "I'm going to be late for work." He said, trying to get up. He didn't get far as Alex lightly push him back. "Alex-"

"You have a fever." She plainly said.

"Alex, I'm fine." Justin stubbornly tried to get up again, but her hand on his chest wouldn't let him.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you look healthier than ever." She said, sounding almost annoyed. "You're going to have to stay home while I'll have to take care of things around here." She got up and made her way back to her room, annoyed. "Why couldn't I get sick? It's so not fair." She certainly sounded just like old herself.

After getting rid of her backpack she went back into the hall and opened the closet. "You've better not be getting up or you'll regret it." Justin was half way up when she said that and decided to listen her. He didn't want to upset her now, knowing what the old Alex was capable of. She came back with an extra folded blanket and dropped it on him.

"You can use that if you get cold, even though you're sweating." She said with a frown. "Why are fevers complicated?" She asked herself as she walked away.

Alex thought of all the things she had to do since her brother was sick. First she had to give him food and medicine…which they had none of on the medicine part. Things were already starting to look up. Alex headed back to living room after checking what they had and looked down at Justin.

"Okay, there are good and bad news. The good news is that we have canned soup so you have something to eat. The bad news is we don't have anything I can give you for your fever. I'll have to go to the pharmacy." Alex said with her arms crossed.

"What about school? You can't-"

"It will still be there tomorrow." She cut him off before he started one of his speeches about education. Alex saw he was starting to shiver. She bent down and pulled up both blankets so he wouldn't be cold. "Try to get some sleep while I'll go to the pharmacy." Justin watched as Alex got ready and left to the pharmacy. Her body language and face expression may look uncaring about the situation, but her actions spoke otherwise. That was definitely Alex. Especially, when she didn't give him a chance to explain what she needed to get because he was sure she didn't know.

Once she got to the pharmacy Alex realized she had no idea what to get for Justin's fever. Maybe that was what he was trying to tell her before she left. She never took interest in what their mom gave them when they were sick. All she wanted back then was to get better and fast, unless it was a school day. Whatever, she'll think of something…

After forty minutes of looking through bottles that names didn't even sound English to her, she swallowed her pride and asked for one of the attendant's help. She was so tempted to use magic, but then she remembered these places had security cameras. The man that had been watching Alex tried to hide his amusement when Alex came to ask for his help. She could totally see the light smile on his face as he showed her what she needed, but ignored it. After those embarrassing moments, at the last minute she decided to get a thermometer. They never had the need for one until now.

While Alex was away Justin took the opportunity to call Joseph. It didn't take long for him to pick up.

"_Yes?"_

Justin weakly frowned. "It wouldn't kill you to say hello."

"_But it's so over used don't you think?"_ Justin could practically see him smiling.

Justin sighed, not really feeling up doing this right now. "Listen I'm not going to be able to make it today."

"_What's wrong?" He asked._

"Remember last night when you _pushed_ me into the water and all the rain?"

"_Yeah?"_

"It's seems not getting shot has it's consequences too. I have a fever and won't be able to make it today and probably tomorrow." At first the line went quiet and then he starter to hear laughter.

"_You really got sick from that? Ow, that stings!"_

"_Will you hold still!" Lacey's voice came from the background._

"I'm glad this is funny for you." Justin said, annoyed.

"_Alright, I'll tell the guys you won't make it today. Need anything?" He asked, trying to hide the pain on his leg that Lacey was taking care of._

"No, I'm fine. I'll talk to you later."

"_Oh, that's right you have company." _He totally could see Joseph smirking._ "I'm sure she'll keep you…_entertained. _If I could give a few suggestions in how she could be useful in this situation,_ _maybe she could-"_

Justin hanged up before he heard the rest.

When Alex got home she found Justin where she had left him. She was glad things were back like they were used to. Meaning she told him what to do and he'd listen, one way or the other. She walked over to the table and put down the bag with the things she bought. She took out the new thermometer and brought it to Justin. She shook it to get it ready and brought it to his mouth.

"Here."

"I'm suppose to leave it there for a minute right?" She lowered her knees to the ground to wait. They waited for a minute and then she took it out to look at it. " 103. I guess that's normal for a fever." She mumbled, looking at it and then looked at him a little strangely. She brought her hand up and touched his forehead with back of her hand. Feeling her touch he opened his eyes. Their eyes met and they stared at each other. It was one of those stares that had been appearing lately that lasted only for a few seconds. She never took her eyes off his as she slowly traced her hand from his forehead down the side to his cheek. Her touch stayed there for seconds and then it was gone. She stood back up and went to the kitchen.

"I'll make you some soup and then I'll give you your medicine." She said.

Neither of them knew what those stares that had been coming and going were about. They just happened. They didn't know what they meant…or maybe they didn't _want_ to know.

After giving Justin his soup, calling Ricky to take the day off, and receiving calls from Cat and Jane, the rest of the day was all hers. It was heaven because she caught up with all her sleep and couldn't be anymore rested, but by the time she woke up it was late afternoon and there was nothing for her to do. She didn't have to work, her homework was done, and Justin was sleeping. She had some time for herself and she couldn't think of single thing to d-wait a second.

Alex went to the closet and took out their spell book. She walked over to the kitchen table and took a quick glance at Justin. The t.v was on, but he was asleep. Good. She opened the book and searched for the spell she has eagerly been wanting to learn. Justin said it was a useless spell, but she just had to learn it. She could just imagine all the things she could do with it and of course she didn't think about the drawbacks the spell had and that Justin warned her about. Alex looked over the spell again smiled. It was a simple spell, just like she liked them.

Alex looked at the palm of her hand and murmured the spell. It was a good thing she was learning wandless magic it made it a bit easier, but not by much. She concentrated her magic as much as she could. She could feel her magic flowing through her body and controlled the flow. Minutes later Alex could feel herself starting to sweat a little, but kept going. It was taking longer than she thought it would, but she sighed in relief when it was finished. Seeing that it was ready, she carefully lowered her hand to the table…

Justin woke up to the sound of the t.v that was still on. After turning it off with the remote, he noticed it was dark outside. Just as he sat up, Alex came walking into the room.

"You're finally awake. You sleep like a rock when you are sick, you know that?" She said, breathing a little fast.

Justin tried to get comfortable while his body ached.

"You want some soup?" She asked.

He didn't feel that hungry, but he knew he had to eat if wanted to get better. "Yeah."

Alex nodded. "Give me a few minutes." She said and went to the kitchen.

Justin watched as Alex started making his soup. No sarcasm? No remark? She was never this cooperative unless…

"What did you do?" He stared at her accusingly with his tired eyes.

"Hmm?" She hummed with her backed turned, making his food.

"You're never this nice unless you did something." He said.

Alex scoffed. "Can't I be nice to my brother when he's sick?"

"No, unless you did something or you were forced to." Justin said, knowing her.

"Whatever." She said, ignoring him.

Justin kept staring at her, seeing if she would give in, but he already knew she wouldn't. Minutes later Alex was getting annoyed with his staring. "Ale-"

Alex turned around with a bowl of hot soup. "Just eat will you." She said, going to the couch and giving him his soup wrapped in a dish towel so he wouldn't burn his hands. Justin stared at her and decided to let it go. There was nothing wrong with their apartment and as far he could tell nothing was missing.

While Justin ate, Alex sat on the couch too. She moved up and down on the couch without him noticing and frowned. She thought about this while she saw him sleeping. It was so not her, but…that stupid thought came back and along with that chill. When she had been checking on him earlier in the day, thoughts came to her head. Thoughts like how unfair it was that he got to sleep all day and not worry about anything. Thoughts about faking being ill herself when he got better so she could make him give her royal treatment. Thoughts of how…how glad she was it was just a fever. And then that idiotic thought that she hated. What if it was or had been something _worse_. She couldn't handle that, being left all alone. She wouldn't be though because that wasn't going to happen. But the thought of it left her cold inside so cold it was to the point of irrational fear.

"Hey, Justin?"

"Yeah?" His voice showed how sick he really was, which she now noticed.

"Since you're sick and all, maybe you should sleep in my bed while I sleep here." Justin stopped eating and looked over at Alex. She avoided his glance by looking somewhere else.

"What?" He asked, confused.

Alex sighed and abruptly stood up. "Take it or leave it." She said, crossing her arms with her back to him. Justin stared at her back with his mouth slightly opened. He didn't know what to say. He saw how hard this was for her. It wouldn't be hard for someone else, but being this nice was hard for her. It showed in the silence they were in.

"Thanks." Was all he said with a light smile. He saw her shoulders relax, getting over with this whole thing. His eyes slowly dropped to her back as it relaxed as well and, without meaning to, lowered to the small of her back. His eyes slowly lowered more until they were on…

Justin stood up with one blanket over his shoulders and walked over to the sink. "I'm going go to sleep."

"I'll get my pajamas and change." Alex said and went to get her things. While he waited he noticed something off with the table or more like something on it. When did they get a tablecloth? He didn't have much time to think about it as Alex came out, changed and he just wanted to sleep.

As he got comfortable under the her covers, his nose was filled with her scent. It was so different that it stopped him from sleeping right away. It took him a few minutes to get used to it. He took a breath of it and slowly breathed out. In a way it soothed him and brought him to sleep. Alex's thoughts were similar as she wrapped herself with his blanket. His scent that was all around her made her feel warm. She buried her face on his pillow and slowly breathed. The warmth soothed her to sleep.

The next morning Justin's fever had gone down, but not by much. Alex argued with Justin about staying home. What was one more day of no school anyway? She, of course, won the argument, but Justin made it clear she was going to go the next day. However, she had to go to work today, but that wasn't until later. At the moment she was doing something she had always hated, dishes. While Justin laid on the couch watching t.v she was stuck cleaning plates. Sure she has been doing them and making their food since they were on their own, but that was when Justin worked long hours and he didn't have his raise. Ever since he wasn't exhausted anymore to barely make it to bed, she made it clear she wouldn't ever do dishes again, but she clearly over looked this situation.

"Are you feeling better yet so you can help me with these?" Alex asked from the sink. She didn't get a response, meaning he fell asleep or was ignoring her.

"Did you fall asleep?" She kept washing with still no answer. "Lazy." She murmured under her breath. This coming from her.

A few minutes later she finished the dishes and dried her hands. Alex left the kitchen and walked over to the t.v. She turned it off, thinking Justin was asleep and headed for her room. She didn't get far when she saw Justin. She couldn't tell if he was awake, but even though he had two blankets he was shaking. Her face didn't show anything as she knelt down beside him.

"Justin?" She lifted her hand and touched his forehead. He didn't open his eyes and that's when those stupid thoughts crawled back into her head. There was nothing wrong with him. He was going to be fine, but her mind was restless. He wasn't going to leave her…He wasn't going to…to-

Justin gasped when his covers were suddenly lifted. Few seconds later Alex was on top of him with his blankets around them both. She rested her head on his chest, not knowing what else to do. The chills in his body were forgotten for a moment as he stayed still. He couldn't think and didn't know what to do. "You're cold." She whispered. His mind clung to that, to the only thing that made some sense. Having her this close he could feel every part of her body pressed against him, every curve, every inch, everything. After minutes of silence and not moving, he slowly raised his hands to the small of her back under the covers. Her body tensed for a second, but then relaxed. His hands stayed there as if they wanted to do something, but then rose more and embraced her. She was very warm and that's all he thought of. Alex closed her eyes and just felt. All her life Justin always explained everything to her, but this time he didn't say anything and that was what she wanted.

It was unusually busy at Ricky's when she arrived for work. The place was packed and that was not good for her. She could already see how today was going to be for her. So many orders, so many people to serve. Alex had the strong urge to walk back outside the moment she set foot in. Ricky smiled when he saw Alex.

"Hey kiddo. As you can see it's going to be a long day. Have fun." He said and quickly went back to work. If Ricky was this busy it really was going to be a long day for her. Alex made a whining noise as she walked to the kitchen already feeling her muscles filling with tension.

The day went by with full tables and many orders to fill. Alex could just feel her hand cramping up for the tenth time. The moment one table was empty a few minutes later it was filled with people again. Alex couldn't have been happier when it was time for her break. Ricky saw as Alex tiredly walked into the kitchen and took a seat. He really hated doing this to the kid, but someone had to do it.

"Alex, could you do me a favor, please?" He said in the nicest voice he could manage.

"Ricky, it's my break." Alex said, trying to not sound whiny.

"I know kid, but everyone is busy right now and it's starting to smell." Ricky explained, regretfully.

Alex looked at the full garbage bags and then back at him. "You want me to take out the trash?"

Looking sympathetic he nodded. "I would really appreciate it. After that you can do whatever you want for the rest of your break." Alex seemed to think about it and then smiled. He wondered if this is what her brother felt when he knew she was up to something.

"Sure I'll do it." She said with that same smile. "If I get fifteen extra minutes for my break.

"Fifteen! With the place packed like this!" Ricky looked at her shocked. "Ten."

Alex leaned on the counter and looked at her nails. "I'm sure you can fine someone else to take out the trash. It's really starting to smell though." Ricky sighed and looked at the garbage. It really was starting to smell bad. Where did this Alex come from? He had a feeling this was the real Alex.

"Okay, fine fifteen. Now please take them out." He said, pointing at the back door.

"Sure thing boss." Alex said, grabbing the bags and walking out.

Ricky shook his head and went back to work.

After getting rid off the smelly bags, Alex dusted her hands and looked around. The back of the building was deserted with semi-space. Perfect. There was a reason why she wanted some extra time for her break. Yes, she was tired and should use her time to rest, but she really wanted to get the hang of her spell. Once she set her mind on a spell she liked, she wouldn't stop until she learned it. She took a quick glance around for something she could use and stopped at a garbage can. That would do. Alex raised her hand and once more concentrated her magic like she did before. Her breathing became a little faster as she concentrated her magic. When her magic was ready, she approached the garbage can…

At the end of the day, Alex couldn't have been any more tired than she was. She's never been so glad about going home. She had ended up working an extra two hours and what made it worse was her spell's after affects . All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. She was too tired to eat or care about it. Ricky waved goodbye to Alex as she left after their long day of work. Before leaving, Ricky picked up the last of the garbage and walked outside through the back…

"What the hell happened to the trash can!"

When Alex got home she threw her things on the floor and found the living room empty. Her tired gaze immediately went to the empty couch and groaned. She remembered how she slept the night before. It's was a miracle Justin didn't have back problems from sleeping in that torture device everyday. Alex made her way to her room almost dragging her feet and wasn't surprised when she found Justin sleeping as peacefully as someone could with a fever. She quickly changed in the dark, not bothering leaving the room since he was asleep. She walked over to the side of the bed and touched his forehead with the back of her hand. Maybe if he was better she could kick him back to the couch. Alex sighed. The fever was holding steady.

"Alex?" Justin opened his eyes, waking up.

Alex looked down out him tiredly. "Still not feeling better?"

"You look like your ready to drop dead." He said, seeing the state she was in.

"This coming from the guy that can't make his own food." She couldn't stop the yawn that escaped. Justin saw how really tired she was and started to sit up.

"You should sleep on your bed." He said. Alex was so tempted to take her bed back, but Justin was still very sick.

Alex made him lay back down. "You're still sick. Go to sleep." Justin's brotherly nature kicked in and sat back up.

"You're not used to sleeping on the couch. You can have your bed back. I'm your older brother-" Alex's load groan cut him off.

"Not the older brother speech." She whined. Before he could continue, she went to the other side of the bed and threw herself on it with her back to him. She scooted further into the bed making him move to his own side and make room for herself.

"There, now we can both shut up and sleep here." She said, throwing the covers over herself. "I'm tired, I had a long day at work, and all I want is to go to sleep. Goodnight." The finality in her voice left no room for argument. Justin stared at her, not knowing what to say. His body demanded for to him rest and caved in. He slowly laid back down and faced his own side. Even with his fever, he could feel her body's heat on his back and with that feeling he went to sleep.

The next day everything was the same. They woke up on the their own side they slept on and his fever had gone down some. Alex didn't see the big fuzz of them sleeping on the same bed and, surprisingly, Justin didn't say anything about it. It was a good thing too, he thought too much for his own good sometimes. The day went by as usual. Justin stayed home while she had to go to school this time by Justin's determined tone and then went to work. Alex was so relieved it was a light day at work.

At work, Alex had decided that during her breaks she would practice her spell. What Justin didn't know wouldn't hurt him. She will show him it was not a waste of time or useless. Although, she would have to be more discrete from now on.

"Alex, did you see anybody yesterday when you went to throw out the trash?" Ricky asked.

"You mean out in the back?" She pointed with her thumb.

Ricky nodded.

"Nope." Was all she said and went back to work.

When she arrived home, she was tired, but not as much as yesterday. She checked the apartment and Justin was already sleeping on the bed. Good. She was right about done with being this nice. If he had been on the couch she would have left him there. She made herself something to eat and then took a warm shower. The hot water always relaxed her. She quietly dressed herself without turning on the lights and looked at Justin who was sleeping on the middle of the bed. After sleeping on the uncomfortable couch and then on her bed again, she thought there was no way she was going back to the living room.

Alex quietly walked over to the side of the bed she slept the other night. "Justin." Her voice was barely above a whisper. There was no response from him and then she did a double take. Why was she trying to wake him up? To tell him she was going to sleep on same bed with him again? What was she thinking? She's Alex. She doesn't warn or ask permission from him for anything. She lifted the covers and laid down. She gently pushed him with her back to make room for herself. Just because she was doing what she wanted like always it didn't mean she wanted to wake him up. He was still ill. That's what she kept telling herself. Just as she was making some progress she felt him move and she froze. She waited for about a minute to hear him say something, before she looked back and saw his back. He must have just turned on his side in his sleep. She slowly scooted further until their backs touched. She let her body relax and closed her eyes as their bodies made the bed cozy. It sort of felt nice having the extra warmth.

* * *

**This turned out longer than I thought it would, it always does for some reason. My beta is very busy at the moment, so this chapter is all me. I hope you guys like it and let me know what you think.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Labor Work**

Another day came as the night ended and the sun rose. Morning light shed into the bedroom. Alex stirred as she started to awake and slowly opened her eyes. With her eyes still full with sleep, she tiredly noticed it was morning by the light in the room. She turned to her side to see the time. She had to lift her head a little to see over the body that laid next to her. She looked at the time and it took a few seconds for it to register. Once she realized what time it was, with a groan she laid her head back to her pillow.

"Not again." She moaned.

She lightly swatted the body next to her with her arm.

"Justin, that stupid alarm didn't work again."

"Wha?" Justin looked at the clock with tired eyes. His eyes flew open and threw the blankets off. "Oh, crap I'm late!" He said as he rushed out of bed.

Alex rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. "Seriously, why do we still have that piece of junk?" She said and got out of bed.

Justin quickly went through his morning routine while she changed and made them something to eat. When she was done Justin walked into the room and she could tell he had rushed through everything. His clothes were messily put on and his hair was still drenched from his shower.

"That's the fifth time this has happened." Justin argued as they sat down to eat.

"Hey, you're the one that suppose to wake up without needing an alarm." Alex complained.

Justin glared at her while he ate as fast as he could without chocking. "Well sorry I was up half the night doing laundry or we would had nothing to wear since someone forgot to do it." Alex scowled and made a face at him. It was a normal morning as Justin complained about Alex behavior and she ignored him. They didn't have time to wash their dishes so they just left them in the sink. "If you just learned how to wake up on your own you wouldn't have to rely on that broken thing. And another thing-"

"Yeah, yeah, you can yap all you want on the way." Alex said, getting her backpacking and dragging him out the door by his hand.

This has really been a normal morning for them, even the part of sharing her bed. It has been three weeks since Justin had that fever. It had all started the first day Justin finally recovered from his fever.

_Flashback_

_It was dark outside as they were getting ready to go to sleep. Justin couldn't feel any better as he walked into the bedroom after changing. He found Alex sitting at her desk doing her homework, but by her expression he had a feeling she wanted to claw her own eyes out._

"_Need any help?" He asked, walking over to her._

"_No, I'm almost done with this stupid thing." She said, annoyed._

_Justin decided not to bother her. She always was in a bad mood when she did homework. It probably took all her will power not to burn her books every time she opened them. He went to his side of the bed that he has gotten used to. With a thud Alex closed her book and stood up._

"_Finally, I'm done." She exclaimed._

_After turning off her lamp Alex turned around ready to go to bed seeing Justin was already there, but stopped when a thought came to her. Her attention went back to Justin as she stared at him._

"_What?" He asked._

_After a few moments, it seemed she was going to say something, but decided against it. Alex walked around to her side and lied down. She covered herself with the covers and faced her side with her back to him. "Night."_

_In the dark Justin was thinking about what she was going to say until it came to him. He wasn't sick anymore. The reason he was there was because Alex was surprisingly nice about letting him sleep there when he was sick. Maybe, that was why she stared at him earlier. He started to feel uncomfortable under her blanket. He was fine now, he should go back to the couch and let Alex have her bed back. He started getting up with his elbows when suddenly Alex grabbed his arm with her back still to him. Justin stayed in place, watching his sister's back, not knowing what to do. She lightly squeezed his arm and he knew. It was a silent, unspoken word._

_Stay._

_Justin relaxed and lied back down. He shut off his brain from all thoughts and let sleep take over him._

_Flashback_

It was a quiet walk to Alex's school. The sound of the city was all they needed. It was a comfortable walk after their usual arguments. Nothing had seem to change to them. As they neared her school she slightly frowned, but that was just a reflex to school. Alex squeezed his hand before letting go. They had been holding hands since Alex dragged him out of the apartment, but hadn't let go after. Neither of them said anything about it and hadn't plan to.

"See ya." Alex said, walking the rest of the way. Justin waved goodbye and went his own way.

The day went by and soon night came. Justin grumbled as he walked down the street. He looked up at the newly night sky as he walked completely annoyed. He was tired, hungry, and wanted to go home, but instead he was doing this. He was tired mostly because he was hungry and why was he hungry? Because Alex was supposed to buy groceries from her way from school, but she didn't come home. After worrying and getting a hold on her friends, they told him Alex stayed at the library after school. Alex and library in same sentence still freak him out a little. So instead of having a nice meal and rest, he was going to her school to go get her and get some food. He really wanted to just leave her there and go get some food himself, but he knew he couldn't do that.

"She better be at the library." He grumbled as he approached her school.

The room full with stands of books was covered in silence. The bookstands stood tall in the darkness as no sound could be heard except for the light breathing coming from one of the tables. Alex slept soundly with the light of the monitor in front of her illuminating her. She slept peacefully in the silence until someone shook her awake. She immediately jumped up and threw a fist at the direction of her sleep violator. Her hand connected with something hard, making her cringe. Holding her hurt hand she looked up with a scowl and saw a glaring Justin with a book in front of him.

"This is what you call doing homework?" He said, putting the book down.

"No, sometimes I call it me time." She said, glaring back.

"You've been sleeping this whole time?" Alex ignored him and stood up after turning off the computer. She walked over to the printer and started organizing her papers.

"For your information I decided to take a small break after working none stop on this stupid paper. I just lost track of time." She said, stapling.

"Did you forget it was your turn to buy the groceries or did that just escaped your mind?" He asked as he got her things ready in her backpack.

"I'm gonna go with escaped my mind." Alex smiled as he tossed her backpack at her.

"I've been starving all day!"

"Oh, quit your whining and let's go get something to eat. I'm hungry." She said, heading for the door.

"So now because _you're _hungry we have to rush and get some food." He said, following after her.

"Um, yeah." Alex said like it was the most obvious thing. Justin shut his mouth, struggling not to yell as he walked out the door. He knew it was pointless. He calmed himself down and met her outside.

"How did you even manage to stay in there so late?" He asked as they started to walk.

"It pays being friends with the janitor."

It would be easy to assume that choosing what to eat would be a no brainier since they both were starving, but knowing them nothing was simple. After arguing they settled with pizza. He had to fight with her just to get half of the pizza with the topping he wanted. She knew they would end up with half-half, but she was his little sister and it was her job to make his life hell. Justin was just happy he finally ate something. After getting rid of their hunger, they walked for a bit until they found a bus stop.

"Why are taking the bus again?" Alex asked as they waited at the bus stop.

"It's way to dangerous to walk all they way back home at this hour." It was such a Justin thing to say.

"You're such a baby it's not that far." She rolled her eyes as the bus came.

"Do you prefer to actually walk?" He asked as they stepped inside.

Alex paused for a second. "Good point. It's your money anyway."

The bus was almost completely empty, other than the driver there was only one woman sitting at the back with her hand on her round stomach. Alex and Justin sat on the middle as the bus went back into motion. However, as time passed, waiting and doing nothing was something Alex was not good at, especially when they were stuck in heavy traffic.

Justin quietly sat and focused on the extremely slow cars that passed, or more like didn't, trying to ignore Alex's poking. He swatted her hand away a few times, but she kept coming back. After the fifth time swatting her hand, she started repeating his name while poking him. Justin had the strongest urge to hit his head against the window.

"Justin, Justin, Justin, Justin, Justin, Jus-"

"What!" He couldn't take it anymore. Lucky for him the driver wasn't paying attention and the woman was fast asleep. Alex was startled at first, but then calmly rested her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm bored." She said. He could tell from just looking at her face and how close it was. The moment he looked at her eyes his annoyance was momentarily forgotten. Between her eyes that were full of boredom was a strand of her. He slowly raised his hand while she gazed at him not moving an inch. He suddenly stopped and dropped his hand back down. He looked away as his annoyance came back. It must've been a trick of the light because he thought he saw a speck of disappointment in her eyes.

"I…am…bored." He sighed and wondered how old she was. He reached down for her backpack and took out a notebook. Alex watched with mild interest as he wrote some weird words. When he was done, he dropped the notebook on her lap.

"Since you're so bored you can use the time to learn something new." Alex looked down and raised an eyebrow.

"What is this? Italian?" She asked as she looked at the strange words he listed.

"No. It's an old language and they're spells." He whispered the last part even though no one could probably hear him.

"Huh?"

Justin sighed and pointed at the words. "Back in the old times wizards didn't rhyme spells in sentences to cast them. They only spoke one word to do spells. You can say the rhyming is a modern thing."

Alex narrowed her eyes as she looked at each word. "I can see why they started rhyming. Who could pronounce these?" She questioned and then started reading the first one.

"Abe-"

"Don't say it!" Justin interrupted. "They're spells which means something will happen if you say out loud."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Like I can actually pronounce these words." She ignored his warnings and started saying the spells. Justin watched as she said them with a scowl. She was right. She wasn't even close at pronouncing them right.

After finishing she threw the notebook down. "It's like it's a different language."

"Didn't I just say that?"

She looked at him. "I zoned out through some parts." Now it was Justin turn to stare at her. It wasn't that long of an explanation! A few minutes later she tried again, but then gave up. The more she said them the more frustrated she got.

"Are you sure you didn't make this words up? Because they sound like words someone could make up." She said, frowning down at the words.

Justin rolled is eyes. "I'm sure."

Alex picked up the notebook, took a brief glance and then thought for a second. "I mean, I could say something like…abripio-" A white flash suddenly spread throughout the bus. As soon as it appeared it was gone. The bus driver jumped slightly and looked back behind him. He shook his head, thinking it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Just as the light disappeared the woman's eyes snapped open.

Justin had his mouth wide open as he looked at Alex, who had a stunned look on her face.

"That did not just happen." Alex said. Justin took the notebook from her and started searching his own words.

"Was that really a spell?" Alex asked

Justin dropped the notebook with a surprised look. "It's not one of the words I wrote down."

"Of course not. I made it up." She said. Justin shook his head and she saw he was starting to panic.

"You didn't make it up, it really is a spell, but I can't remember what it does!" He exclaimed holding his head.

"Justin calm down! Nothing's happened." She said as she watched Justin close his eyes, trying to remember.

"Abripio, abripio, abripio. It's something, something opening or maybe…um."

"Open something?" Alex looked at the doors and saw them closed. "Well the doors are closed. Maybe I said it wrong."

Justin shook his head. "No, that's no it. Maybe it was pushing something open or forcing something out…um." Justin groaned in frustration. "I can't remember!" Alex rolled her eyes. He was over thinking this.

"It was probably nothing." Just as she said that a moan echoed from behind them.

"I think my water just broke."

Justin's eyes snapped wide open. He slowly turned his head at Alex, who looked at him with equally disbelieving expression. They slowly looked back at the woman as she held her stomach.

"Lady, you're joking right?" The driver asked.

Justin literally climbed over Alex and walked over to the woman.

"Uh, are you sure it broke?" Justin asked, nervously we he looked at the woman. The water dripping to the floor from the seat drew their attention.

"I'm sure." She said as a wave of pain came. Justin stood there with his mouth hanging open and his brain having a meltdown. Suddenly someone tugged his shirt from side and saw Alex staring at the woman.

"What do you know? It did do something." She said nonchalant. Justin looked at her in disbelief and then the situation came down on him and who's fault it was.

"ALEX!"

A few minutes later…

After giving Alex loud, yet discrete lecture about responsibility and how much this was her fault, Justin went up to the driver.

"We need to go to the hospital." Justin said.

The driver laughed. "Yeah and I need a new job."

"This is serious. The woman is giving birth!" Justin shouted, pointing behind them. The driver looked at him irritated.

"Have you forgotten where we are kid? Look." He said, motioning him with his head. Justin looked out at the line of cars they were surround with. There was no way they were going to get anywhere soon. Justin walked back to the pregnant woman in pain and Alex sitting next to her looking at her nails like nothing.

"Where stuck in the traffic."

Alex looked at the moaning woman and then at Justin. "Well, we're screwed."

While Justin covered his eyes and groaned, the woman was trying to stay calm, but the situation wasn't getting better. "I hate to say this, but I don't know how much longer I can stay sitting here." The woman said.

Justin looked at down at her and at her seat. She was right this wasn't a good place for her. "She's right. We need to put her in a more comfortable place." He said.

Alex looked around them. "Where are you going to put her? On the dirty floor?" Justin furrowed his eyebrows.

"No. Just let me think." He said, holing his temples.

"Justin just go get a blanket and we'll spread it on the floor." Alex said.

Justin gave her a look. "Oh really Alex? And where exactly am I suppose to get one? Is it magically going to appear out of thin air?"

Now it was Alex who gave him a look. That's when Justin realized it. "Oh." He turned around and started walking, but stopped. He took out his phone and threw it to Alex. "Call an ambulance while I'm gone."

"And how exactly are they going to get here? Fly over the cars?" She asked holing the phone.

"It's going to be a while, but they'll eventually get here." He said as he went to the front of the bus to explain to the driver what they were doing, as in telling him some kind of lie. As he walked outside into a small alley, he looked at the noisy cars that barely moved. "I hope."

Back in the bus, it was getting hard to ignore the cries of pain. After calling for an ambulance Alex stared at the woman as she wriggled in pain on her seat. "So, is it really that painful?" The woman opened her eyes and stared at Alex.

"You have no idea." She answered as she started to sweat. "But it's worth it…so I've been told."

Alex watched as the woman panted and moaned as the pain came again. " Yeah I don't see the attraction."

The woman even though she was in pain smiled. "When I told my mother I was pregnant and she finally calmed down, she said to me that the happiest moment in a mother's life is when she holds her baby for the first time. That's why all this pain is worth it." Alex stared at her, but her mind went somewhere else. She wouldn't have that. She will never be able to talk to her own mom about all those special moments in her life.

"My name is Rachael by the way." The woman said as Justin came back with a large blanket.

"Did you call?" He asked as he spread the blanket on the floor. There wasn't much space because of the seats, but it was better than sitting. Alex came out of her stupor and nodded.

"Alright, help me with her." They both helped Rachael lay down.

They both looked down at Rachael as she breathed deeply. Alex took a side glance at Justin and saw how he was trying to stay calm, but on the inside she knew he was probably freaking out. "Maybe you should get her a pillow." She said. Alex watched as Justin mindlessly nodded and left.

The corner of her mouth raised a little.

Justin came back with a pillow and helped Rachael put it under her head. Alex thought for a moment and looked at Justin. "She's starting to sweat a lot. Can you go get a small towel?" Again he nodded and left. This time a small smile grew on her face. When he came back, he wiped Rachael's sweat from her face and then handed it to Alex. She stared at him for a few moments. "Justin she's going to get dehydrated at this rate. You should go get her some water." Once more he left and her smile grew. This should be good.

"She's going to get hungry, get a sandwich."

"How about a soda?"

"Dutch tape."

"A stuffed bunny would be nice."

"…keychain."

It was around the time when he came back with a water gun and a scowl on his face, she had to try hard not to drop to the floor and laugh. The driver snickered and looked the other way as Justin walked in. Alex smiled innocently as he walked over to them and threw the water gun on one of the empty seats. Rachael couldn't help, but laugh a little even though she was in pain. Justin sat down and gave Alex a death glare.

"Justin, she needs another pillow."

If looks could kill…

Rachael smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry Justin. I really do need another one."

Justin stood up and grumbled as he walked away. The driver by now knew the drill and this time laughed as he opened the door for him. Alex couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing hard. "He's so easy sometimes." Rachael shook her head as she giggle before another wave of pain came.

"That was a mean trick to do." She said.

Alex waved it off. "He's used to it. Besides it's how we have fun…or more like I have fun." She said, smiling.

Rachael smiled and stared at the ceiling. "Just don't have too much _fun_." Alex looked at her a bit confused. "I bet you two have another kind of fun too." She said as she looked down to see Justin coming back into the bus. "Just remember me the next time you're alone with your boyfriend. It'll help you on the long run." Alex stared at her as Justin attended her. Did she just get 'The Talk' from a woman giving birth? Alex shook her head. This was turning out to be a strange day…Okay, maybe not so strange for them considering how they ended up in this situation.

Time passed as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Alex sat with her back on the window once more bored. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like hours. She turned her head to a few seats behind her. It was probably worse for Rachael, being stuck on the floor instead of a nice bed. She looked over at Justin, sitting across from her.

"Justin, how much longer until the ambulance gets here?" She asked, bored.

Justin looked out the window. "The cars are starting to move more. The traffic should clear up soon."

Alex groaned and banged her head against the window. "I just want to go home." She whined.

Justin narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah, but because of someone we can't and I don't mean Rachael."

"It was your idea to take the bus in the first place." She argued.

"And it's your fault we're stuck in it." He took a worried glance behind at Rachael. "It's a good thing going into labor takes hours, otherwise, we would have been in serious trouble."

"Yeah, we are really lucky." Alex said, sarcastically. "How was I supposed to know my made up word was an actual spell." She mumbled. "I mean what were the chances of that happening again? I could probably say something like…adcileres-" A bright light flashed around them.

Suddenly Rachael started screaming.

"ALEEEEEEEEEEEEEX!"

The next day wasn't as eventful as the day before, which was fine by Justin. He could have died of happiness when the ambulance arrived short after Alex's second slip. No, today wasn't as troublesome, but it was still a very hard day of work. Ralph had a lot of boxes full of antiques that had to be moved for new items. They weren't exactly weightless either. Then Zack had to double their usual routine for reasons he didn't even know. Something about a date going wrong and didn't get any…tension release. He just happened to be at the receiving end. It was no wonder Alex came home to a dark apartment. After locking the door she dragged her feet to her room and then to the bathroom without a word. Apparently Justin wasn't the only one that had a rough day. She took her time with the hot water, relaxing her tense muscles. When she was done she changed into something more comfortable and headed to the kitchen.

"Justin, did you eat already?" She tiredly asked. She looked through the fridge, seeing if there was anything to eat. She took a few things out and put them on the small counter. It was then when she realized nobody had answered her. Alex's drowsy eyes looked over to the living room, where the only light was coming from the television. Justin was fast asleep on the couch laying on his side. Alex shrugged and tiredly made her sandwich.

When Alex was done eating, she cleaned everything up and moved out of the kitchen. In her tired state she looked between the hallway and the living room. She walked over to the couch and without a word dropped on it with her back towards him. She laid her head on his sprawled arm and her back pushed against his chest to make room for her.

"Move." She said in a tired voice.

She felt him stir, but other than that, he didn't gave a sign that he was awake. Satisfied that she had room, Alex closed her eyes and relaxed. Minutes later his arm snaked over her stomach and not a word was said until…

"You have a bed you know." He said in a sleepy voice.

"It's too far." She said, equally tired.

Justin lightly sniffed her hair with his closed eyes. "You showered."

"Well duh." She sighed and snuggled closer into him.

"Hard day at work?" He lazily lowered his hand down her stomach and his thumb found its way under her shirt. He lightly started brushing her skin soothingly.

She hummed in response and at the feel of his touch.

"You didn't do anything you weren't supposed to right?"

Alex lazily smiled and turned her head back to him. "I don't know, maybe. I am a naughty girl after all." Whether it was intentional or not, her butt pressed back to a certain part of his body.

Justin smiled tiredly. "Maybe I should punish you then." He didn't know if it was because of the state he was in, but he responded in return by pressing that certain part back into her.

She giggled when she felt him press back. Alex rested her head back on its original spot on his arm and went back to catching sleep. "Maybe you should, but right now sleep."

Alex didn't know it, but at that moment she developed a new habit.

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**I don't know how long it takes me to update chapters, but it feels like a while, sorry about that. Thanks to all those who review my story, it really motivates. This chapter hopefully is to be enjoyed...does that make sense?...I'm just going to leave it there anyway. Reviews are good yes, yes they are.**


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